The UAE is to celebrate its pioneering founding fathers, who brought the seven emirates together as one nation, with the release of a commemorative coin collection.
The Central Bank of the UAE will issue 3,000 sets, each made up of seven silver coins, in honour of the UAE's Golden Jubilee and to pay tribute to those who paved the way for the country's remarkable rise.
Each coin, valued at Dh50 and weighing 28 grams, bears a black and white image of one of the founding fathers on one side along with a colour image of one of the seven present-day rulers of the emirates, who form the Federal Supreme Council.
The reverse side of the coin features the Year of the 50th logo, along with its nominal value of Dh50 and the name of the UAE central bank.
The souvenir set is priced at Dh2,000 and will be available from Monday, January 3 at the central bank headquarters and its branches.
It was on February 18, 1968 when Sheikh Zayed, Ruler of Abu Dhabi, and Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed, Ruler of Dubai reached a formal agreement that would bind them together and lead to the formation, three years later, of the UAE.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, recalled the meeting in a series of tweets in 2018.
“From that day we started, from that day we agreed and from that day we began our march together,” he said.
It set the leaders on a path to December 2, 1971, when a historic agreement was made to form the Emirates.
The founding fathers were Sheikh Zayed, who was Ruler of Abu Dhabi and became the country's first President; Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed, Ruler of Dubai and the first Vice President of the UAE; Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah; Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Ruler of Ajman; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Ruler of Fujairah; Sheikh Ahmed Bin Rashid Al Mualla, Ruler of Umm Al Quwain and Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah.
"This coin issuance honours the founding fathers for their significant role in establishing the Federation of the Seven Emirates, and in line with the current wise leadership’s to continue the legacy of the founders in building a nation to which we are proud to belong," said Khaled Mohamed Balama, governor of the Central Bank of the UAE.
