A Tunisian Dinar Coin with the image of a beautiful farmer maid to promote the country's progressive image

Coins have always served a more important purpose for ruling elite the world over. A coin is the best propaganda tool since time immemorial. Another fanciful coin in my coin collection which set my imagination soaring was a silverish looking coin with the image of a beautiful farmer lady with Arabic inscriptions in my collection.

I was sure it was the coin of an Arabic country poised to break free from its medieval past and adopt a modernist agenda.

Reading the obverse legend (see below) gives the ruler's name in the upper line as 'al-Habib al Burqiba' with the lower line stating 'Rais al-Jamhooriyat al Tunisiyya' meaning 'President of the Republic of Tunisia' making it obvious that the coin hails from modern Tunisia, a tiny country in the northern most part of Africa. The ruler mentioned was Habib al Burgiba, a person who presided over the country's future right since its independence from France in the 1940s till he was forced to abdicate in favour of his Prime Minister.

The coin further shows a semi-modern approach by use of modern dating -'1976' instead of the Islamic calendar in Hijri era. The woman is shown harvesting crops in her field with a modern tractor in the background completing the image of a progressive nation breaking free from its past shackles.

It shows it takes a woman to make vital changes in the economy of both her home and her nation; driving home a modern message now acknowledged world over.

The legend above the lady states 'al-Bank al-Markazi al-Tunisiyya' meaning 'Central Bank of Tunisia' and the lower line shows its denomination as 'Dinar Wahid' meaning 'One Dinar' with the Roman numeral '1' in the centre.

Tunisia is a relatively peaceful country despite its authoritarian regime; its populace is like modern Turkey free from radical agenda which makes it acceptable to the West which supports its economy by importing Tunisian goods in a good measure. Modern Tunisia claims to be one of the most surging economies in the African sub-continent. Thus, a country's coins are valuable indicators of the 'state of mind' of its rulers, their aims and goals that they wish to project to both domestic and international audiences.