Dinar – Morocco

In 1608, the Moroccan monetary system was characterized by a complex and often unstable blend of local and foreign coinage, reflecting the country's position at a crossroads of African, European, and Ottoman trade. The foundational unit was the silver dirham, but its weight and purity were inconsistent, varying between regions and ruling authorities. The Saadi Sultanate, then in power, struggled to impose a uniform national currency, leading to a marketplace where Spanish reales, Ottoman altuns, and various European gold and silver coins circulated freely alongside locally minted issues. This reliance on foreign specie, particularly Spanish pieces of eight, made the economy vulnerable to external flows of precious metals.

The period was one of significant financial strain for the Saadi state. Exhausted by decades of war, including the costly conflict to expel the Portuguese from coastal strongholds and the monumental Battle of al-Qasr al-Kabir (1578), the treasury in Marrakech faced constant pressure. Sultan Zidan Abu Maali, ruling from 1603 to 1627, contended with internal rebellions and factional strife, which further eroded central control over minting and fiscal policy. Debasement of coinage—reducing the silver content of dirhams—was a frequent, if damaging, method employed to meet immediate state expenses, contributing to inflation and mercantile distrust.

Consequently, daily commerce for Moroccans in 1608 operated through a practical, multi-tiered system. Large-scale trade and state finances dealt in gold (dinars) and imported silver, while the common populace relied on a cumbersome mix of lower-value copper fulus and cut fractions of larger silver coins for everyday transactions. The lack of a strong, standardized currency hindered economic integration and was a symptom of the broader political fragmentation that followed the empire's peak under Ahmad al-Mansur, whose death in 1603 had ushered in this era of monetary and dynastic uncertainty.