Adlan had organized the Mint rather with the object of making a profit than of supplying a want. Silver was cheap, and he was able to make 50 per cent. profit on the manufacture of dollars. At that time gold coinage was no longer current. On one side of the dollars was stamped the Mohammedan date, with the words, "Struck in Omdurman," while on the reverse was the Sultan's Toghra, underneath which was written the word, "Makbul" (accepted); hence the dollar became known as the "Makbul dollar." Pieces of five and ten piastres value were also coined, as well as a few single piastre pieces, on one side of which was stamped the Toghra, and on the other the word "Omdurman." The Mahdi on his coins had written, within the Toghra, the words, "By order of the Mahdi," but Khalifa Abdullah did not follow his example.
Besides these coins, English sovereigns were also current in Omdurman, and were known as "khayala" (cavalry) pounds, on account of the St. George and the dragon being engraved on them. Egyptian pounds were also current, but now all gold coins have become rare.
The principal currency is the Medjidie dollar, and these have been in such constant use that they are much obliterated. The Maria Theresa dollar (also known as the "Abu Nokta") is current as well, but chiefly with Sawakin, Massawa, and Abyssinian traders, and notably with the last. The French 5-franc-piece and the Spanish dollar (known as Abu Madfa) are current in a very minor degree. Egyptian piastres and half-piastres, introduced by the Hicks Expedition, are occasionally seen. The Austrian quarter-gulden piece (fiorini) is considered to be worth 2 piastres. In addition to all these silver pieces, copper coins of all descriptions are current.
The Khalifa Abdullah had no small trouble in circulating the Makbul dollar; the merchants refused to value them at 20 piastres, and, in spite of most stringent orders, and continued threats of confiscation of property, imprisonment, &c., the order was somehow continually evaded.
Merchants set high prices on their goods, and would never accept until the buyer had shown all the different sorts of dollars he possessed; he was thus obliged to do this or to buy at exorbitant rates. Complaints became rife, and eventually they reached Abdullah's ears. He got very angry, and one day in October 1887, he sent troops to the market with instructions to bring all the goods in the market to the beit el mal. It was useless to resist; the owners were obliged to look after their own goods, which were piled up near the big gate of the beit el mal, in the open, and under a burning sun. Abdullah was now raging, and publicly made the following curious statement:—
"That unbeliever Gordon induced merchants to accept miserable bits of paper as equivalents for money, and now I offer you silver and you won't even take it."
For fourteen days these wretched people sat by the gate, trembling for their property. All sorts of rumours were flying about. Some said that the Khalifa intended to throw all the goods into the river; others said that he was going to burn them, and perhaps the most likely notion of all was that he intended to confiscate the lot and transfer it to the beit el mal. By this time the merchants were thoroughly alarmed, and begged some of their influential friends to mediate with the Khalifa. At length the latter summoned the principal merchants, and asked them if they would accept the Makbul dollar at the value of the old dollar, whereupon they not only accepted gladly, but declared their readiness to accept any sort of money he chose to issue, even should it be made of leather.
Thus was a reconciliation effected. The Khalifa treated the merchants well, gave them plenty of food, and condescended even to eat with them on this festive occasion. After this episode there were no more difficulties about making the Makbul dollar current in Omdurman, though to this day the Arabs refuse to accept it.
But gradually silver became dear, and the Mint began coining bad dollars, made of two parts silver to three parts copper; consequently the value of the old dollar has now gone up to 25 piastres. This gave further opportunities to the counterfeit coiners. The silver-workers in the Mint began making dollars on their own account, and, those being different from the others, caused great confusion. These false dollars were very well coined, and it required a practised eye to notice the deception; indeed, it was not until a very large quantity of these false coins had got into circulation that the fraud was found out.
An inspector was now sent to examine all dollars; all false coins were broken into pieces, and no compensation given to the owners. Thieves and smugglers purchased the bad dollars at 10 piastres apiece, and then, of course, every description of bribery and corruption was practised. For instance, an Arab would agree to sell his camel for 150 dollars, on condition that the money should be submitted to the examining commission. The president, who was of course bribed, gave out as his decision that the dollars were all good, and received a good round sum from the purchaser for his falsehood; thus it happened that the Arab was generally defrauded of 40 or 50 dollars. In spite of several false coiners being punished with the loss of a hand and foot, still the evil practice continued, and it is only within the last few years, since the price of silver has increased so much, that false coining has, to a great extent, ceased.