It’s hardly in our comfort zone to hear of a museum curator who helps himself to the museum assets, selling them off for his personal gain. It is a fear of virtually everyone who has ever made a contribution to a museum. This is not only due to the fact that it may create a great tax write off, but because in our minds, once something has been contributed to a museum, it should remain there forever.

Not so in Aden, according to an article appearing in the April 30 issue of the Yemen Observer newspaper.

According to the newspaper article, “Aden police have detained director of the Aden-based National Museum after he sold 895 gold currency coins. The coins that were in the museum safe were of those issued in the Imamate era in the North and during the British colonization in the South, and even used in the beginning years after the separation of the Yemen republics,” the police said.

The article continues, “The director, 53, is accused of selling the rare coins to a trader in the province for YER 4.5 million. The police said they had found the transaction documents showing that the official had already abused his position. The director and the trader are now in custody and expected to be turned over to the competent authorities soon so legal action can be taken against them.”

Details regarding what coins they are were not provided. Anyone trying to piece this together who is not familiar with Yemen’s coinage will face quite a challenge. Yemen became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1918 following a successful revolution. By that time the mint at the city of Sana’a was striking coins for al-Mansur Muhammad bin Yahya (Iman Mansur), who ruled locally from 1890 to 1904. The mint produced both its individual dies and coinage blanks by hand, resulting in many much sought after types and varieties. This Sana’a mint continued production throughout the reign of the Iman Yahya (1904 to 1948), whose more formal name is al-Mutawakkii Yahya bin Muhammad. All gold coins struck for the Iman Yahya are struck on the weight standard for the Turkish lira.

Coinage of Yemen is confusing for many reasons, one of these being that the rule of the individual imans often overlapped depending on who ruled what city. Once an iman lost and then regained power he might strike coins using a different name for himself on his future coinage, further confusing the subject. In addition, some of the governors who ruled Sana’a also had coins struck in their names during the 19th century.

Circulating gold coins of the British occupation in the south were struck on the gold coin standard used by the British. These coins are countermarked with a 1, 2, or 4 in Arabic numerals, the numerals likely indicating 1, 2, or 4 British gold sovereigns weight.

What became the Yemen Eastern Aden Protectorate was, much like today, a pirate haven until the British East India Company overran Aden in 1839. The British extended their control by capturing Hadhramaut as well, followed by a series of protectorate treaties with local rulers in the region. Silver coins dominated what was struck by the British for this area. The British also issued coins for the Kathiri State of Seiyun and Tarim, the Quaiti State of Shihr and Mukalla, and for Lahej.

Yemen Arab Republic is in the northwestern sector of Yemen and was not established as a separate nation until 1970 following an eight-year revolution. In 1990 the two Yemens became a single nation.

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