Saudi riyal Saudi riyal The Saudi riyal ( ""); is the currency of Saudi Arabia. It is abbreviated as The riyal has been the currency of Saudi Arabia since the country came into being and was the currency of Hejaz before Saudi Arabia was created, one of the primary currencies in the Mediterranean region during the Ottoman era. The Hejaz riyal was based on but not equivalent to the Ottoman 20 kuruş coin and was consequently divided into 20 qirsh. However, although the Hejaz riyal was the same weight as the Ottoman 20 kuruş, it was minted in .917 fineness, compared to
Currency lads and lasses of illegality, inferior quality, and subordination. By analogy, native-born colonials came to be known as "currency", in contrast to the British-born "sterling". The first reference in print to the native-born being called "currency" was in the "Sydney Gazette" of 13 September 1822, in a letter signed by "Lydia Languish" calling for more social events to be organised for "currency lasses". As applied to people rather money, the term originally had derogatory connotations – by the early 1820s, "currency had stuck for male and female native-born and everyone knew what it implied". However, it was soon reclaimed by the native-born as