(sold for $11.0)

Denomination: Dirham Reference: KM-C#32.1. Mint Date: AH 1188 (1774 AD) Condition: Greenish deposits, crudely struck, otherwise VF+ Diameter: 24mm Material: Silver Weight: 2.8gm

Morocco has a very important strategic location, as a gateway to western Europe. This has resulted in the nation being attacked and subjugated by many invaders from the Phoenicians and Romans to the more modern French and Spanish. At the time of the mintage of this coin, Morocco was under French control. Of interest, is the fact that Morocco was the first nation to recognize the sovereignity of the United States in 1777.

Mohammed Ben Abdellah al-Khatib (c. 1710 – 9 April 1790) (Arabic: محمد الثالث بن عبد الله الخطيب‎) was Sultan of Morocco from 1757 to 1790 under the Alaouite dynasty. He was the governor of Marrakech around 1750. He was also sultan briefly during 1748.

He was the son of Sultan Abdallah IV who reigned 1745–1757. A more open-minded ruler than many of his forebears, he signed numerous peace treaties with the European powers, and curtailed the power of the Barbary corsairs. He revived the city of Essaouira and invited Jews and English to trade there. He also built the old medina of Casablanca (Derb Tazi) and renovated the kasbah of Marrakesh. Mohammed III used numerous European technicians and architects for his projects, such as Théodore Cornut and the Englishman Ahmed el Inglizi.

Mohammed ben Abdallah also took steps to remove the foreign presence on Moroccan coasts. He repulsed the French in the 1765 Larache expedition. He conquered Mazagan from the Portuguese in 1769. However, the Siege of Melilla (1774) against the Spanish ended in defeat in 1775 when British aid failed to materialize.

In 1786 Morocco became the first Arab state, the first African state, and the first Muslim state to sign a treaty with the United States. A false myth persists to the effect that Morocco recognized the United States in 1777.

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