The 25 Riyals for Qatar and Dubai is a rarity known throughout the collecting world, as it is a key note in an extremely popular series. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Great Britain set up a variety of Protectorates through the Persian Gulf. These political alliances lasted for decades and ceased in 1971 with the independence of the Emirates that would form the United Arab Emirates, which issued its first banknotes in 1973. However, the first banknotes issued for part of the future UAE were issued in Dubai in 1966, when it entered into a currency alliance with Qatar (banknotes in circulation at the time included Indian Rupees and Gulf Rupees, which were also printed in India and of the same basic design, with different colors).

The currency union between Qatar & Dubai proved a success, and its banknotes circulated extensively in the two regions. The series, which consisted of a 1 Riyal, 5 Riyals, 10 Riyals, 25 Riyals, 50 Riyals and 100 Riyals were printed by the British firm of Bradbury & Wilkinson. All denominations had the same design, but the colors are different and the sizes increase with each denomination, with the 25 Riyals bright blue and measuring at approximately 140 x 70 millimeters. The front of the notes is entirely in Arabic, including the serial numbers, while the back is in English, identifying the notes as being issued by the Qatar & Dubai Currency Board.

The 25 Riyals by far had the lowest issuance of the entire series. While the exact number of pieces issued is unknown, an article by Peter Symes published online indicates that just 1,565 were outstanding in October 1997. Most of these appear to have been lost or destroyed, as this denomination is very rarely offered for sale and the number of pieces certified by the grading services is small. The note offered here is offered in problem-free Extremely Fine condition and merely shows light signs of circulation. Its colors are bright and quite unusually, it is free of any writing or markings, which are a common issue on notes of this series. An extremely important offering for the specialist of Arabic banknotes and a key note in this sale.

PMG Population in 40: 2 (4 Finer)