The Central Bank of Morocco issues a commemorative coin to mark the 50th anniversary of the Green March
The Green March, launched by King Hassan II on 6 November 1975 with 300,000 civilians to peacefully demand the integration of Western Sahara into Moroccan territory, was a very important milestone for Morocco, especially considering that, recently, the United Nations (UN) Security Council endorsed the current Moroccan autonomy plan for the territory as the most serious and realistic option for resolving the Sahrawi dispute, which has been going on for half a century since the end of the Spanish colonial era.
New coin
Precisely on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Green March, the Central Bank of Morocco (Bank Al Maghrib) has announced the issuance of a commemorative silver coin with a value of 250 dirhams (just over 23 euros).
The obverse of the coin bears the image of King Mohammed VI, a prominent figure who, through his diplomatic efforts, has brought the inclusion of Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty ever closer, along with the name of Mohammed VI himself and the Kingdom of Morocco.
The reverse side of the coin features an image of the map of Morocco, which includes the territory of Western Sahara, on top of an image of the globe, as well as the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Morocco and the number 50, alluding to the 50th anniversary of the Green March.
At the top is the phrase ‘the 50th anniversary of the Green March’ inscribed with its French translation at the bottom: ‘50 éme Anniversaire de la Marche verte’.
The inscriptions on the obverse are written in both Amazigh Tifinagh and Arabic, demonstrating the cultural integration that the Kingdom of Morocco also advocates with sensitivity towards Amazigh culture.
In addition, the year of issue, 1447 (according to the Muslim calendar) and 2025 (according to the Western Christian calendar), appears on the coin. The coin is made of silver and copper, weighs 28.28 grams and has a diameter of 38.61 millimetres.
Important milestone
The minting of coins in countries is a traditional way of commemorating or celebrating events that are important to the nations themselves or very important anniversaries.
In this case, the issue of Western Sahara is extremely important for Morocco because it understands that it has to do with the defence of its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, as it considers the Sahrawi territory to be part of its southern provinces. Therefore, the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Green March, which saw the peaceful entry of 300,000 Moroccan civilians into Saharan territory to claim it, as the Moroccan kingdom has always alleged, is an important milestone worthy of the minting of a new coin, as announced by the Central Bank of Morocco.
