World coins chat: Iraq

5 posts
Iraq is a country in the Levant in the Middle East bordering Syria, Turkey, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The 36 million population is of Arab, Kurdish and Turkmen ethnicity. The majority follows Shia Islam but a large part is Sunni. Iraq is therefore on the crossroads of Arab and Iranian culture.

Iraq probably has its name derived by the ancient town of Uruk. The area now known as Iraq was home to the oldest agricultural civilisation in the world. The two rivers Euphrate and Tigris irrigated the land and an advanced Sumerian culture developed from 6000 BC. It was the Sumerians that invented the wheel. Worth a tribute every time you drive a car or ride a bike.

There were more ancient civilisations in present-day Iraq. The Babylonians ruled around 1800 BC. In Greek times it was known as Mesopotamia, which means 'between the rivers, referring to the Tigris and Euphrate. The Arab conquests of the 7th century brought Islam to Iraq.

The Abbasid Empire, a caliphate that reached its apex in the 12th century, had Baghdad as its capital. It was Islam's golden age, and many scientists went to Baghdad with its many libraries, including the House of Wisdom. In 1258, an invading Mongol force brutally made an end by sacking the city, burning the cultural heritage to the ground and murdering a large part of Baghdad's population. The Mongols also destroyed the vast and advanced irrigation systems, which left Iraq as a depopulated place and the end of Islam as an enlightened religion. Prior to the invasion, an estimated 30 million people lived in Iraq, almost as many as in 2015. Only 4 million were left after this barbaric event.

From the 15th century Iraq was part of Ottoman Mesopotamia, although the Ottomans not always had full effective control of the area. Arabs kept on challenging Turkish rule, and the British made use of that during World War 1. Lawrence of Arabia persuaded local Arab leaders to revolt but the result was that Iraq became a British protectorate and hopes for a large Arab state were dashed. The British allowed Faisal, son of Hussein (King of Hejaz) and brother of King Abdullah of Jordan, to become King of Iraq.

King Faisal's coronation:


King Faisal managed to win full indepence of Iraq in 1932. His relationship with the British soon worsened and he died in Switzerland in 1933 under suspicious conditions. Officially it was a heart attack, but it might have been arsenic poisoning. His son Ghazi succeeded him.

Also Ghazi did not rule Iraq for long. He was rumoured to sympathise with Nazi Germany and died in a sports car accident in 1939 under suspicious circumstances. His infant son, Faisal II, became King of Iraq, but it was Faisal's uncle Abd al-Ilah who took over affairs as regent.

The young King Faisal II of Iraq


During WW2 the British intervened in Iraq preventing it from becoming too friendly with Fascist Italy and joining the war on the Axis side. Again, a western force had dictated Iraq's policy. King Faisal II also did not die a natural death. In 1958 a military coup ended the monarchy and Faisal was assassinated by the new strongmen. A couple of military regimes followed, and by the 1970's Saddam Hussein emerged as its undisputed leader. Financed by oil, Saddam ruled his country with an iron fist, although economically things turned better for a lot of Iraqis, as long as they were not critical of the regime. In 1980 Saddam Hussein decided to attack Iran after the Islamic Revolution that had happened there a year earlier, fearing Iran's ambitions to arm Shia Iraqis and Kurdish. Backed by western arms supplies, Iraq fought a long 8 year war that led nowhere but a million casualties and 1 trillion USD economic loss on both sides. It left Iraq with an unsustainable debt.

It was this dire situation that contributed to Saddam's decision to invade Kuwait in 1990, leading to a war with the USA and its allies in 1991. As a result, Shia and Kurdidh insurgencies tried to topple Saddam but failed. A US-organised no fly zone prevented Saddam from committing any further atrocities to his opponents like he did a decade before.

The whole situation stayed stuck until in 2003 the USA invaded Iraq with the objective of removing Saddam Hussein from power. The whole decision to start this war was highly contested and deeply divided the western world. The USA accused Iraq of having Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), but none were ever found. Some of the US media even suggested that Saddam was responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Most likely the USA true motive was to increase their stronghold of the region, especially regarding control of oil supply, while at the same time relieving Israel by having a proper force nearby. Saddam was definitely a brutal and heartless leader, but the long-term effects of his removal are currently maybe even worse.

Iraq is currently ruled by a Shia-dominated government in Baghdad and eastern part of the country, backed by both the West and Iran. Iraqi Kurdistan has been de facto an independent state in northern Iraq, and the west part fell prey to Islamic State, which made use of Sunni's displeased with Shia rule and elements of the former Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein. A peaceful future for an integral Iraq is currently very far from reality.

Currency

Iraq introduced the Dinar in 1931 at par with the British Pound. It was subdivided in 1000 Fils, and the silver 200 Fils coin was named Rial, because it was a large silver coin resembling the old Spanish Dollar that was used in the region as well. Furthermore, the 50 Fils coin was named Dirham.

The Dinar was always a strong currency, in the 1980's even worth more than a Pound. The Iran-Iraq War ended this, with money printing to finance the internal debt causing inflation. As there was an embargo from 1990, new banknotes were printed with quality far inferior to the old ones printed in Switzerland. These old Dinars were nickamed Swiss Dinars and retained more value than the newer Dinars.

After the US invasion there has been a lot of speculation on the Iraqi Dinar's value, especially in the US. It was rumoured that the rate of around 1200/$ was artificially low and that the Dinar would appreciate if oil exports would pick up. Some people were arrested for fraud and the Dinar just remained a pretty worthless currency.

Coins

The Kingdom of Iraq had bronze, nickel and silver coinage from 1931. They all depict the monarch, but might be hard to identify for the novice collector. Silver was last used in the first Republican series in 1959, which showed industrial and agricultural symbols.

The coins of the 70's and 80's show a scenery of palm trees. In the 1990's no coins were minted. Only in 2004 a series of 3 coins have been minted for Iraq but these were never very popular.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/irak-1.html
Thanks Jokinen. Nice bit of modern history. I only have a 4 fils king Faisal II coin from Iran. I have some homework to do...
Trade only within the US.
I have 3 Iranian coins-2 during the shah's reign.
Iraq is not Iran - know the difference!!
Quote: "dptashny"​Iraq is not Iran - know the difference!!
​Well, you have me on that one. Don't know what I was thinking. I have one coin from Iraq, a 1934 4 Fils.

Just to elaborate, I do know the difference between the 2 countries. I'll do this recounting off the top of my head for the most part. Correct me as you will...

Iranians are not Arab; they are Persian, I suppose. A remnant of some long ago Indo-European migration. I believe some 2,800 years ago Persia was the dominant civilization in the Middle East, and like so many Middle Eastern Countries before and since, the king of Persia, Darius, I believe, (actually, Xerxes after looking it up ) made a run for Europe and was defeated at Thermopylae. "Go tell the Spartans." Iran is today primarily Shia Muslim. (There are Shia and Sunni Muslims and the schism started way back when a dispute arose over the rightful heir to Mohamed. The bulk of Muslims are Sunni.) This is why Saudi Arabia (Sunni) and Iran are implacable enemies.

Iraq, on the other hand, is country of two peoples, the Arabs and Kurds; but the Arab population within Iraq is also at odds with each other depending on whether they are Shia or Sunni. Obviously, Iran backs the Shia population. The Middle East was ruled for centuries by the Turks, and after WWI the European powers decided to break up the Turkish Ottoman Empire-"divide and conquer". By chopping up the Middle East, the European powers, primarily the U.K. and France, made sure that the Middle East would no longer be a problem and that they would fight among themselves instead of against Europe (that seems to have changed lately.) Over the centuries, the Arabs and Turks nearly took Europe, attacking from the West in Spain (Charlemagne held the line) and in the East at Constantinople, now called Istanbul. Turkey is now the firewall between Europe and Middle East. Turkey is the only country in the Middle East to defeat a major European force since 1900, which they barely did against the U.K, Australia and New Zealand at Gallipoli in WWI. Ataturk was the officer that turned the tide at the final major battle.

I hope have clarified I know the difference between Iraq and Iran.

» Forum policy

Used time zone is UTC+1:00.
Current time is 17:30.