½ Dinar – City of Marrakesh

In 1793, Marrakesh operated within a complex and fragmented monetary system, characteristic of the wider Moroccan economy under the Alaouite Sultanate. The city, a vital hub for trans-Saharan trade and regional commerce, saw a circulation of diverse coins with no single, dominant currency. The most prestigious was the benduqi gold dinar, minted in limited quantities and used primarily for state treasury functions, large-scale trade, and hoarding by the elite. For everyday transactions in the souks, the primary coin was the silver dirham, but its weight and purity varied significantly, leading to constant evaluation and haggling over exchange rates.

This monetary landscape was further complicated by the influx of foreign coins, a testament to Marrakesh's commercial reach. Spanish reales (pieces of eight), Ottoman coins, and other European currencies circulated freely alongside local issues, their value determined by their intrinsic silver content and the trust of the merchant community. The Sultanate's mints, including one in Marrakesh itself, struggled with inconsistent output and periodic debasement, often reducing the silver content of dirhams to finance state expenditures, which eroded public trust in official coinage.

Consequently, the currency situation was one of practical adaptation amidst official weakness. Major merchants and changeurs (money changers) held significant power, operating stalls in the souks to assess, weigh, and exchange this heterogeneous mix of coins for a fee. Transactions required careful negotiation, and account keeping often used a theoretical monetary unit, the mithqal, to standardize values. This decentralized and fluid system reflected the broader political reality of 1793, where the central authority in Meknes was often distant, and local governance in Marrakesh relied on a delicate balance between the Pasha, urban notables, and tribal confederations.