Dinar – Fez Branch of Saadi dynasty

In 1613, the Fez branch of the Saadi dynasty, ruled by Sultan Zidan al-Nasir, operated within a complex and challenging monetary environment. The Saadi state, though past its zenith following the death of Ahmad al-Mansur in 1603, still controlled key trade routes and the lucrative sugar plantations of the Gharb plains. Fez, as a historic economic and intellectual capital, remained a vital minting center. The currency system was theoretically based on the gold dinar (often the benduqi), the silver dirham, and the ubiquitous copper falus for daily transactions, following the traditional Islamic monetary model.

However, the period was marked by significant monetary instability. The immense cost of Ahmad al-Mansur's earlier military campaigns, combined with the ongoing internal strife between the Marrakesh and Fez branches of the dynasty, had drained the treasury. This led to repeated debasements of the silver coinage, where the silver content of minted dirhams was reduced to stretch state revenues. Furthermore, a flood of low-quality European silver coins, particularly Spanish reales, entered the economy through trade and piracy, further disrupting the local currency's value and creating a multi-tiered and unreliable monetary marketplace.

Consequently, the monetary situation in Fez was one of pragmatic struggle. The state mint worked to assert authority by striking coins in the sultan's name, but their value was increasingly determined by intrinsic metal content rather than royal decree. Merchants and money-changers in the Fez souks had to constantly evaluate a heterogeneous mix of domestic and foreign coins. This instability reflected the broader political fragmentation of the Saadi realm, undermining both commercial confidence and the fiscal foundation of the Fez-based sultanate at a time when it was vying for supremacy against its rival in Marrakesh.