PMG Registry Featured Set: Bahrain Complete Set

This month we visit Bahrain and collector Bu 3abdulla’s Bahrain, 1964-Date, P1-Date, Complete, Including Varieties. Bu 3abdulla recently reached 100% completion of this set with 42 notes, though two other collectors are only a few notes away from matching this achievement. Impressively for Bu 3abdulla, all but a handful of his notes are graded no less than PMG 67 Superb Gem Uncirculated EPQ.

One of the key notes in the set is the 1998 issue of 20 Dinars. What would otherwise have been a common note became rare due to a brazen forgery. In 1998, the Bahrain Monetary Agency was readying a modified 20 Dinar note with a hologram, and at the same time a fake order for the old 1993 notes (to be signed 1998) was placed with a printer in Argentina. The printer didn’t verify the source of the order, and produced the notes, which were then smuggled into Europe and the Middle East for exchange.

Bahrain, Monetary Agency 1973 (ND 1998) 20 Dinars (Pick# 22) graded PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ and 1973 (ND 1998) 20 Dinars (Pick# 23) graded PMG 67 Superb Gem Uncirculated EPQ Click images to enlarge

Even though the newly printed 1998 notes had slight differences from the fake 1998 notes, the bank called in all of the notes, replacing their purple color with a peach or orange color. The intended banknote was in circulation for less than two months, thus becoming a rarity.

One of the only notes Bu 3abdulla has in PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ is that original 1998 note. According to the PMG Population Report, as of August 2022, PMG has graded only 9 in PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ, and just one in PMG 67 Superb Gem Uncirculated EPQ. That note resides in the collection of fifth-ranked Anas Bilal.

We thank Bu 3abdulla for assembling this set and look forward to future updates.

Would you like your set to be chosen for a future article? 100% completion in a set is not always feasible. Our team features sets with thoughtful comments and images for their set descriptions and notes. It may be your set! Stay tuned.

The PMG Registry is a free online platform where collectors register and display their certified notes and can compete against other collectors around the world for recognition and prizes. This popular resource now boasts almost 18,000 registered sets and over 95,000 registered notes. Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®) is excited for the 2022 PMG Registry Awards, and we hope you are, too! Get ready! Winners of the 2022 PMG Registry Awards will receive a personalized plaque, an icon of recognition next to their PMG Registry set, and a $500 PMG grading credit!

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