The 25 baisa of 2008, 1428 in the Hijri calendar, was struck in the year Oman moved its white coins from copper-nickel to nickel-plated steel, and it belongs to the very first year of the new metal.

Outwardly the coin continues the 1999 type: the obverse shows the emblem, a sheathed khanjar over crossed swords, with the legend «سلطان عمان قابوس بن سعيد», and the reverse the value and a double date. The difference lies in the metal: the steel core makes the coin magnetic, the simplest way to tell it from its copper-nickel predecessor.

It was struck under Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who ruled from 1970 to 2020, and it remains legal tender today: in 2020 only denominations of 100 baisa and above were withdrawn.

In a date run of Oman, 2008 is the turning point of the denomination, and the 25 baisa of that year records it. In UNC grade the coin never circulated: no wear, mint lustre intact, with only minor storage marks possible.

Would you like to complete the whole series? See the other issues in the VPcoins catalogue.