The city of Riyadh has a long, fascinating history that dates way back to the time when Saudi Arabia was not consolidated as a kingdom. Therefore, the city’s museums serve as the highlight of Saudi Arabia’s tourism by capturing various aspects of the city’s vast history. One of the most popular and unique museums in the city is the Currency Museum. The museum provides an insight into the evolution of the kingdom’s economy. The museum also has several exhibits showing the old currency used in the Arabian peninsula and how it differs from modern day Saudi Riyals.
Money Museum location: The Currency Museum is located in SAMA Head Office Building in Riyadh’s King Saud Bin Abdulaziz Street.
Currency Museum timings: The museum stays open from 8 am to 8 pm from Monday to Saturday. From 8 am to 2 pm on Sundays.
Entrance fee: The entry ticket to the Money Museum in Saudi Arabia is SR 10.
About Currency Museum
The Currency Museum of Saudi Central Bank serves as an insightful tourist destination for those interested in delving deeper into the country’s glorious political and economical history. The unique museum perfectly portrays the details of Saudi Arabia’s history in terms of currency. Exquisitely showcasing the wide-ranging currencies used in the course of the Arab world’s history, it is also referred to as the Money Museum. The museum is run by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). It has an extensive collection of pre-Islamic, Islamic, and modern currencies. Hence, the Currency Museum is not only a specialized international institution but also serves as one of the world’s most popular specialized cultural museums.
The museum is one of Riyadh’s most fascinating tourist attractions for those seeking to uncover more about the science and numismatics involved in the production of money. It explores the money production process in detail. The Currency Museum displays the rare raw materials used in coin minting and banknote printing. Further, it explains how currency is produced and preserved. The museum also showcases illustrations describing Saudi paper money’s security features. There are pamphlets and writings that offer information on the origin of different currencies all across the premises. The museum displays educational videos of the proper methods of identifying authentic currency.
Structure of Currency Museum
The Currency Museum of Saudi Central Bank in Riyadh consists of five elegantly designed halls that display amazing collectibles with extreme precision and craftsmanship.
1. First hall
As soon as the tourists enter the museum’s first hall, they can see two showcases on the left. Each of these two containers displays a very rare silver dirham. The first of the two dirhams was struck in Al-Yamamah back in 165 AH, while the second one was struck in Makkah Al-Mukarramah in the year 282 AH. The showcases have two enlarged pictures of each of these dirhams on the same side. To the right side of the first hall, an information desk is present distributing relevant publications related to various currencies. The hall also features a huge wall map of Saudi Arabia, marking the locations of the different SAMA branches in various cities.
2. Second hall
To its right, Currency Museum’s second hall displays several samples of raw materials obtained from the Mahd Al-Dhahab Gold Mine. It showcases an array of raw materials and equipment to explain the stages involved in manufacturing and printing paper money and the minting of coins. On the second hall’s left side, there are two containers that display sheets of 100 riyals, 200 riyals, and 500 riyals banknotes, along with the steps involved in printing these notes.
3. Third hall
The third hall of the building is known for being the most prominent and largest hall of all. The various historical currencies are displayed in three different forms in this hall.
The first of these forms is a collection of fifteen different wall displays. Each of these showcases 42 coins and represents a particular century. The display starts from pre-Islamic periods and ends at the 14th Hijri century.
In the second aspect, there are two wall-mounted showcases. One of these, displays a variety of coins and banknotes in circulation in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The second one is divided into two parts. The first section displays a wide range of coins that were used in the country’s different regions both before and during Saudi Arabia’s unification. The second section features several extremely rare Islamic coins minted in the country’s different regions during various Islamic ages.
The third and last form is a large showcase located in the middle of the third hall under a hanging globe that rotates electrically. This showcase contains modern currencies currently circulating in different countries worldwide.
4. Fourth hall
In general, the Currency Museum’s fourth hall is dedicated to showcasing Saudi currency. Different samples of the country’s currencies are represented in chronological order, starting from Haj receipts and ending with the latest 5th banknote put in circulation during King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz’s reign. The hall also exhibits Saudi silver and gold coins. In the center of the fourth hall, there is a display showing various Saudi coins. A smaller showcase exhibits gold and silver medals issued by SAMA to honor different occasions is located on the top of this display.
5. Fifth hall
The fifth and last hall of the Currency Museum is solely dedicated to showing films of the museum, Saudi currency, and the security features in modern Saudi banknotes. These films also educate visitors about the correct way of identifying authentic banknotes.
Currency Museum is one of the most prominent and fascinating tourist attractions in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. Serving as a major highlight of Riyadh tourism, it is listed amongst the best places to visit for those interested in learning more about the history of money.
Suggested Read: Top 11 Things To Do In Riyadh: From Quad Biking To A Family Day At Zoo
Currency Museum FAQs
What is the ideal visit time to the Currency Museum?
Ideally, visitors can fully explore all the halls and displays of the museum within 2-3 hours.
How many halls does the museum have?
The Currency Museum features five elaborate halls.
Is the entry to the Currency Museum free?
No, visitors are required to pay an entry fee of around SR 10 to enter the Currency Museum.
Who oversees the Currency Museum?
The museum is overseen by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA).
Why is Currency Museum popular?
The Museum houses currency, coins and banknotes from different era of Saudi Arabia and Arabian Peninsula making it quite popular among the tourists and coin appreciators.
