Dinar – Morocco

In 1632, the currency situation in the Saadian Sultanate of Morocco was characterized by a complex and often unstable bimetallic system, heavily influenced by both internal dynastic struggles and intense foreign trade. The primary coins in circulation were the gold benduqi (or benduqi dinar) and the silver dirham, with their exchange rates fluctuating based on the volatile availability of precious metals. This period, under the later reign of Sultan Mohammed esh-Sheikh es-Seghir, saw a state treasury strained by the costs of maintaining military campaigns against Ottoman advances in the east and Portuguese holdings on the coast, leading to occasional debasements of coinage to raise short-term revenue.

The Moroccan economy was deeply integrated into broader Mediterranean and trans-Saharan trade networks, making its currency vulnerable to external flows. European silver pieces of eight from Spanish America, Ottoman altuns, and various other foreign coins circulated freely in port cities like Salé and Essaouira, often preferred for large-scale commerce due to their reliable weight and purity. This foreign competition pressured the Saadian mint (Dar al-Sikka) to maintain standards, but regional disparities were common, with older, clipped, or counterfeit coins creating a chaotic marketplace, especially in interior regions.

Furthermore, the monetary system was complicated by the use of non-metallic currency for everyday transactions. The small copper fals was essential for local markets, while in remote rural and tribal areas, barter and payments in kind (such as grain, salt, or cloth) remained widespread, reflecting the limited reach of the central monetary authority. Thus, Morocco in 1632 operated with a fragmented monetary landscape—a precarious mix of royal coinage, foreign specie, and primitive exchange—mirroring the political and economic challenges of a sultanate past its zenith but still a significant regional power.