2018-10-17 Wed

Jordan, an Arab nation on the east bank of the Jordan River, is defined by ancient monuments, nature reserves and seaside resorts. It is home to the famed archaeological site of Petra, the Nabatean capital dating to around 300 B.C. set in a narrow valley with tombs, temples and monuments carved into the surrounding pink sandstone cliffs, Petra earns its nickname, the "Rose City."

Jordan is strategically located at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe. The capital, Amman, is Jordan's most populous city as well as the country's economic, political and cultural centre. Jordan is classified by the World Bank as an "upper-middle income" country. The official currency is the Jordanian dinar.

The dinar is divided into 10 dirhams, 100 qirshes (also called piastres) or 1000 fulus. In 1949, banknotes were issued by the government in denominations of 1?2, 1, 5, 10 and 50 dinars. From 1959, the Central Bank of Jordan took over note production. 20 dinar notes were introduced in 1977, followed by 50 dinars in 1999. 1?2 dinar notes were replaced by coins in 1999.

The note in the image beside is a Half Dinar Banknote of 1959. The obverse has the portrait of King Hussein bin Talal of Jordan (1935 - 1999). The back adorns the Oval Forum at Jerash, the Roman city of Gerasa. Jerash is considered one of the most important and best preserved Roman cities in the Middle East and was a city of the Decapolis. This predominantly brown note has the Watermark of King Hussein wearing a keffiyeh.

Image Courtesy: www.worldbanknotescoins.com