Morocco P-57a 10 Dirhams 1970—Hassan II—Oudaya Gardens

A scarce early issue from newly independent Morocco, bearing the young King Hassan II at the dawn of his 38-year reign — and a back scene that quietly celebrated the women powering Morocco's agricultural economy.

Front

• Colors: pale green/cream background; deep burgundy/crimson engraving throughout; geometric rosette accents in burgundy
• Portrait: King Hassan II (الحسن الثاني), young and suited, facing left
• Vignette: Andalusian Gardens (Jardin Andalou des Oudayas), Kasbah of Oudaïa, Rabat — lush garden with fountain, cypress trees, and the pavilion tower
• Serial number: BC/65 018646 (prefix BC/65)
• Date: 1970-1390 (Gregorian/Hijri dual date)
• Text: بنك المغرب / عشرة دراهم (Bank of Morocco / Ten Dirhams) in Arabic
• Geometric rosettes: intricate Islamic geometric star-pattern medallions at right
• Signatures: Gov. Mohamed El Mdaghri / Minister Moulay Hassan Ben Mehdi El Alaovi

Back

• Colors: pale green/cream background; deep burgundy/crimson engraving throughout
• Central scene: woman worker in headscarf sorting and packing oranges on an industrial conveyor line — Morocco's citrus export industry
• Text: BANQUE DU MAROC / DIX DIRHAMS in French; legal warning text in French along bottom
• Printer imprint: THOMAS DE LA RUE & COMPANY LIMITED along lower left edge

Other Characteristics

• Varieties: you may receive any variety: P-57b (1985); P-57a (1970) — this note
• Catalog numbers: P-57a; TBB B405; Numista N#207186
• Watermark: King Hassan II
• Composition: Paper
• Size: 145 × 73 mm
• Issuing entity: Bank of Morocco (Banque du Maroc)
• Printer: De La Rue (TDLR), London
• Demonetized: Demonetized: 31 December 2011
• Signatures: Gov. Mohamed El Mdaghri / Minister Moulay Hassan Ben Mehdi El Alaovi
• Currency: Moroccan Dirham (1960–date)
• Condition note: Grades VF visually, but has two significant tears; tears are not visible when note is in a holder.

A King at the Helm

Hassan II ascended the throne in 1961 at just 31 years old, following the death of his father Mohammed V — the king who had won Morocco's independence from France in 1956. The young Hassan on this note looks almost professorial, his portrait engraved with the fine-line precision that De La Rue had perfected over a century. He would go on to rule for 38 years, surviving two coup attempts — including the 1972 attempt involving F-5 fighter jets strafing his own royal plane — and becoming one of the most consequential — and controversial — monarchs in modern Arab history.

The Gardens Behind the King

The vignette beside Hassan II depicts the Andalusian Gardens of the Oudayas in Rabat — a walled garden of Moorish design built in the early 20th century on the site of the ancient Kasbah of Oudaïa. The garden's name recalls the Andalusian Muslims expelled from Spain in 1492 during the Reconquista, many of whom settled in Rabat and brought with them the architectural traditions of Granada and Córdoba. Today the Kasbah of Oudaïa is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Woman on the Back

The reverse scene is quietly remarkable: a woman in a white headscarf operates an industrial orange-sorting conveyor — a direct nod to Morocco's citrus industry, which by 1970 was one of the country's leading export earners. Placing a working woman on a banknote was not common in the Arab world of 1970. It was a deliberate signal of Morocco's modernizing ambitions under Hassan II.

Own this note and you hold a piece of Morocco's post-independence story — a young king, ancient gardens, and the women who built a modern economy, all pressed into 145 × 73 mm of De La Rue craftsmanship.

About Morocco

• Origin of name: From "Marrakesh" — the medieval capital city, itself from Berber Mur Akush ("Land of God" or "Land of the Sons of Kush"); European languages adopted "Morocco" from the city name
• Capital: Rabat (city pop. ~600,000; metro ~1.8 million)
  • Origin of name of Rabat: From Arabic Ribat al-Fath ("Fortress of Victory"), named by the Almohad caliph Yaqub al-Mansur in the 12th century
• Population: ~38 million (UN 2024) — comparable to California
• Area: 446,550 km² / 172,414 mi² — slightly larger than California
• GDP per capita (PPP): ~$10,500 (IMF 2024)
• Main exports: phosphates and fertilizers (world's largest phosphate reserves), automobiles, citrus and produce, seafood, textiles
• Borders: Algeria (east), Mauritania (south), Ceuta and Melilla (Spanish enclaves), Atlantic Ocean (west), Mediterranean Sea (north)
• Official/spoken languages: Arabic (official), Tamazight/Berber (official), French (widely used in business and government), Darija (Moroccan Arabic dialect)
• Ethnicities: Arab-Berber (~99%), small communities of Sub-Saharan Africans and Europeans
• Memberships: Arab League (founding member, 1945); African Union (rejoined 2017 after 33-year absence); Organisation of Islamic Cooperation; United Nations; World Trade Organization; free trade agreements with EU and US
• Sovereignty: Independent from France and Spain 2 March 1956; constitutional monarchy under the Alaoui dynasty (1631–date)