The Central Bank of Iraq has been issuing its own currency since 1932 in the form of the Iraqi Dinar, and the new currency has been a standard for the region as well as replacing the Indian Rupee which had held prominence before that year. Ever since the Mesopotamian Campaign of World War I, Britain had taken control of the region from the Ottoman Empire as the latter basically ceded to the cessation after the debilitating confrontations. It was an interesting turn in economic independence as the newly issued Iraqi Dinar replaced the Rupee at a rate of 1 for every 11, and now great numbers of people are looking to buy Iraqi Dinar.
The new note was further subdivided into 1000 units called Fils, but inflation has been such that these Fils have practically been obsolete since 1990. The fixed exchange rate, or pegged exchange rate as it is alternatively known as, was set for the Dinar so that it matched the British Pound for some years. Then, in 1959, that peg was changed to the US Dollar so that 1 Dinar was equal to 2.8 dollars. There was some fluctuation based on dollar devaluations and such, but the Dinar stayed equal to a little above $3 US Dollars until the Gulf War. The history of the Iraq Dinar is succulent indeed.
New Series and Denominations
There are some interesting facts about the latest and currently used Iraqi Dinar banknotes which make up the 2013 series of Iraqi Dinar. The denominations currently in circulation are 250, 500, 1000, 5000, 10000, 250000, and 50000 (released in 2015). The primary color of each of these notes in the order just listed is blue, blue-green, brown, dark blue, green, red, and brown. Overall, they are really quite stunning pieces artistically with various images decorating the obverse and reverse sides of the notes which make them interesting to collectors as well.
Preventing Forgery and Counterfeits
De La Rue has controlled the production of the new banknotes, and they come with a host of anti-forgery measures to prevent counterfeits in many ways. These new notes have collectors watching for any indications of an upcoming revaluation as there is much speculation that one will be on the way which will give a new rise to those with any holdings. De La Rue counting machines that can handle the Iraqi Dinar have already been seen in action, which could be an indication that such an RV is going to take place soon.
Iraq has only a few exports with oil being the primary and most prominent one out of these. This means that there is little demand for dinars outside of the sphere of collectors and investors, and as such the Iraqi Dinar has held on to an “exotic” status evaluation which keeps the action down at least for the time being. That is except for the multimillion-dollar speculation industry which has been created with the issuance of the latest series of banknotes. All this speculation has led to many frauds and otherwise shady investment schemes, and so it is important to only purchase dinar and securities from reliable and trustworthy sources.
Collectible Status and Investment Desirability
The latest series of Iraqi Dinar banknotes has a lot to be impressed about. It is one of the rarer forms of currency which has multiple languages printed on both sides. In this case, it is both the Arabic and Kurdish languages which are some of the most beautiful written languages around the world with the script written from right to left in beautiful flowing style. Both are official languages of the country of Iraq, and as such the sphere of influence that these new notes have has been widened since more people are now able to read it in their own language and transact in it more confidently.
Another awesome feature of the latest Iraqi Dinars is a feature set that is aimed at allowing the blind to recognize the value of any banknotes that they meet. The CBI (Central Bank of Iraq) has included tactile features which are raised lines on the left side of the note which allows those with visual impairment to easily determine what denomination the notes are. Other innovative security measures include such things as an optically variable monogrammed security thread which changes color as the bill is tilted. For example, the variance is gold to green in the 10000 Dinar note.
Some of the denominations also integrate SICPA’s SPARK feature which is a security measure that exhibits three visual characteristics: optical-brightness, color-shift, and dynamic light effects. Patented pigments and inks along with specialized printing mechanisms make this possible, and with this the Dinar is in the upper echelon when it comes to preventing counterfeiting. There are also transparent windows integrated into the bill so that it shows the Minaret of Samarra when the bill is held up to a white background and the denomination when the banknote is held up to a dark background. The minaret is a spiraling tower landmark in what used to be the largest mosque in the world.
Hope for A New Iraq Future
The inclusion of such visual images as the minaret and photographic images of famous faces familiar to those in the region means that the banknotes are another awesome iteration in telling the country’s rich heritage even as fated and tumultuous as it has been in the past and even well through to modern times. The artistry of the latest Iraq Dinar series will be difficult to surpass due to the combination of talented individuals who made their mark on the currency. The Central Bank of Iraq and individual investors alike are all hoping for a revaluation that will bring impressive gains to those smart enough to make the investment, and their hope stretches to a vision of a country which is not so torn by the vicious cycle of violence and cruelty which has for some time now limited a society from truly reaching its full potential. An investment in a dream such as that cannot be a bad thing even if it does not pay off with the 5 figure return rates that some are hoping for, so buy Iraqi Dinar.
