Collection Inspiration: Cultural World Heritage Sites in Danger

Paper money collectors often focus on a particular nation or even a particular series. This column is designed to offer ideas for building a collection of notes from around the world based on a common element. This month, we look at endangered World Heritage Sites that are featured on notes from around the world.

Starting in 1978, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has named more than 1,000 places around the world as World Heritage Sites. Most of them are cultural (manmade) as opposed to natural. Several dozen have been added to a List of World Heritage in Danger, signifying the need for conservation.

For instance, the ruins of the Temple of Zeus in the ancient Roman city of Cyrene are featured on the back of the Libyan 5 Dinar note issued this year. Located in northeastern Libya, the Cyrene ruins have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982. In 2016, they were added to the List of World Heritage in Danger because of the Libyan Civil war.

Libya, Central Bank ND (2021) 5 Dinars graded PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ Click images to enlarge

The forbidding Sahara Desert dominates Libya and much of the rest of northern Africa. Nearly 2,000 miles southwest of Cyrene, at the southern edge of the Sahara, is Timbuktu, which many in the Western world regard as synonymous with a remote location. In fact, the first recorded European contact with Timbuktu wasn’t until 1826. It was a major center for Islamic scholars in the 1500s, and this Mali note honors its famous city, which was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. Timbuktu was added to the endangered list in 2012 due to threats from Islamic extremist groups.

Mali, Banque de la Republique 1960 (ND 1967) 50 Francs graded PMG 63 Choice Uncirculated Click images to enlarge

When one thinks of cities rich in cultural heritage, Jerusalem springs to mind. This Palestine Currency Board 1929 1 Pound shows the Tower of David, a centuries-old citadel near the Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. The Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls were named a UNESCO Heritage Site in 1981 and added to the endangered list in 1982 due to urban development and lack of maintenance.

Palestine, Currency Board 1929 1 Pound graded PMG 30 Very Fine Click images to enlarge

Travel south of Israel along the coast of the Red Sea and you’ll come to Zabid, one of Yemen’s oldest towns and home to one of the world’s earliest mosques. It was named a World Heritage Site in 1993 and added to the endangered list in 2000 because of the deteriorating condition of its historic structures. The city’s citadel is shown on the front of this Yemeni note.

Yemen Arab Republic, Central Bank 2018 / AH1439 200 Rials graded PMG 67 Superb Gem Uncirculated EPQ Click images to enlarge

The remains of another historic mosque — this one located in Iraq — were named a World Heritage Site and added to the endangered list in 2007. Located about 75 miles north of Baghdad, the Great Mosque of Samarra was completed in the 800s and destroyed in 1278. Only the spiral minaret (seen on this Iraqi note) and outer wall remain. Today, Samarra’s cultural history is threatened by Sunni-Shiite strife.

Iraq, Central Bank 1993 / AH1413 Half Dinar graded PMG 65 Gem Uncirculated EPQ Click images to enlarge

Next door in Syria, the Citadel of Aleppo is also threatened. It suffered damage centuries ago from the Mongols and, within the past decade, from the Syrian Civil War. The current structure is about 800 years old, dating to the Ayyubid period. Seen on the back of this Syrian note, it was named a World Heritage Site in 1986 and an endangered site in 2013.

Syria, Institut d’Emission ND (circa 1950) 5 Livres graded PMG 40 Extremely Fine Click images to enlarge

In 2004, Medieval Monuments in Kosovo were added as World Heritage Sites, and they quickly found their way onto the endangered list in 2006 due to ethnic unrest and political instability. This Serbian note shows one of these sites, the Gracanica Monastery, which was built in 1321. Today, it is a spiritual and political focal point of the Serbian Orthodox community in Kosovo.

Serbia, National Bank 2005 200 Dinara graded PMG 67 Superb Gem Uncirculated EPQ Click images to enlarge

A few hundred miles northwest of Kosovo is Vienna, one of the most important cities in Europe over the past millennium. It was the capital of the Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian Empire. UNESCO named its historic center as a World Heritage Site in 2001 and added it to the endangered list in 2017 due to high-rise projects. The Albertina, an art museum in the city’s central Innere Stadt district, is shown on the back of this note.

Austria, National Bank 1986 (ND 1988) 20/- Schilling graded PMG 66 Gem Uncirculated EPQ Click images to enlarge

The New World also has endangered cultural sites. The back of this 2016 Peruvian banknote celebrates the ruins of Chan Chan, the largest city in pre-Columbian South America. In 1986, Chan Chan was declared a World Heritage Site and added to the endangered list due to natural erosion. What is pictured on the note is actually Huaca del Dragon, a monument located a few miles away that may or may not have been constructed by the same Chimu Culture that built Chan Chan.

Peru, Banco Central de Reserva 2016 20 Soles graded PMG 68 Superb Gem Uncirculated EPQ Click images to enlarge

The back of this modern Bolivian note shows the Torre de la Compañía, a church tower in Potosi that dates to the 18th century. For centuries, Potosi was a major source of silver for the Spanish Empire, and continued mining prompted UNESCO to add the historic city to its endangered list in 2014. It was first named a Heritage Site in 1987.

Bolivia, Banco Central ND (2016) 50 Bolivianos graded PMG 67 Superb Gem Uncirculated EPQ Click images to enlarge

Other articles in this series

• Collection Inspiration: Composers
• Collection Inspiration: Famous Women
• Collection Inspiration: Sports
• Collection Inspiration: Oxen
• Collection Inspiration: Churches
• Collection Inspiration: Women Writers
• Collection Inspiration: Notes that Roar