Set Category: World

Set Name: Iraq Currency Board Banknotes

Set Theme: The "Government of Iraq" banknote series represents the first paper money that circulated in the Kingdom of Iraq. The complete set of issued notes [proofs and specimens are not in scope for my collection] consists of 47 notes, covering 5 different issues and all signature varieties. The denominations in this series are 1/4, 1/2, 1, 5, 10, and 100 Dinars.

The 1st Issue is that of King Faisal I (1931-1932). At 9 notes, it includes some of the most difficult and rarest notes among all Iraqi money. The 1/2, 5, 10, and 100 of this issue are all rare, especially the 10 and 100.

It is followed by the 2nd Issue, that of King Ghazi (1933-1940). Numerous signature varieties exist, especially for the 1/4, 1/2, and 1 Dinar, with 4-5 varieties for each. The 5 Dinar notes are also excessively rare, much rarer than those of King Faisal I. One of the reasons is that the 5 Dinar notes were only released into circulation in 1940 (after King Ghazi's death), and were shortly replaced by the King Faisal II 5 Dinars. Another more important reason, is that only 75,000 pieces were printed of each signature. Compared to most other banknotes this is considered a very low quantity (for instance, 200,000 pieces of the King Faisal I 5 Dinar notes were printed).

During World War II, a 3rd "Emergency" Issue was printed featuring King Faisal II as a little boy, commonly known as the "baby" issue. This emergency issue was printed by the currency note press at Nasik, India (1941). The paper is notorious for being of a lower quality, with no watermarks. In this issue, the 1/2 Dinar note is incredibly rare, perhaps only rivaled in its rarity by the 100 Dinars of King Faisal, with only 4 known issued notes of each.

The 3rd Issue was shortly followed by Iraq's 4th Issue, again featuring King Faisal II as a "baby", but this time it was printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson, & Co. as was the case with the first two issues (1942-1947).

The last issue of the Iraq Currency Board was the 5th "Supplementary" Issue that featured King Faisal II as a youth, and only consisted of the lowest two denominations (1948-1949).

In 1949, the Currency Board was replaced by the National Bank of Iraq, which had been founded two years before on November 16, 1947. The National Bank of Iraq became the Central Bank of Iraq in 1956. Only the banknotes of the Currency Board are part of this collection

Set Description: This is an extremely challenging and rewarding set to conquer (to the best of my knowledge, a complete collection of all signature varieties has never been assembled to date; PMG and the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money only started recognizing and listing these varieites in 2013). All of these notes are hard to find, let alone in decent grade as most available notes have graffiti, tears, tape, sloppy repair jobs, etc.

Owner:     Bseiso Collection


pmg_set Registry Award Winner


Signature Set Details:
Slot NameSlot CommentCertification #Note InfoGraded ByCountry
P-1aFaisal I, 1/4 Dinar, Signature 1. 8004881-001 Kingdom of Iraq 1/4 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-1bFaisal I, 1/4 Dinar, Signature 2. 1203578-001 Iraq Government of Iraq 1/4 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-2aFaisal I, 1/2 Dinar, Signature 1. No Note PMG 
P-2bFaisal I, 1/2 Dinar, Signature 2. 8009668-001 Iraq Government of Iraq 1/2 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-3aFaisal I, 1 Dinar, Signature 1. 8003542-001 Kingdom Of Iraq 1 Dinar - Wmk: King Faisal I PMGIraq
P-3bFaisal I, 1 Dinar, Signature 2. 8003542-002 Kingdom Of Iraq 1 Dinar - Wmk: King Faisal I PMGIraq
P-4Faisal I, 5 Dinars, Signature 1. No Note PMG 
P-5Faisal I, 10 Dinars, Signature 1. No Note PMG 
P-6Faisal I, 100 Dinars, Signature 1. No Note PMG 
P-7aGhazi, 1/4 Dinar, Signature 3. 8009668-002 Iraq Government of Iraq 1/4 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-7bGhazi, 1/4 Dinar, Signature 4. No Note PMG 
P-7cGhazi, 1/4 Dinar, Signature 5. 8003471-002 Kingdom Of Iraq 1/4 Dinar PMGIraq
P-7dGhazi, 1/4 Dinar, Signature 6. 8003471-003 Kingdom Of Iraq 1/4 Dinar PMGIraq
P-7eGhazi, 1/4 Dinar, Signature 7. 8003471-004 Kingdom Of Iraq 1/4 Dinar PMGIraq
P-8aGhazi, 1/2 Dinar, Signature 3. 8004274-009 Kingdom Of Iraq Government Of Iraq 1/2 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-8bGhazi, 1/2 Dinar, Signature 5. 8007519-001 Iraq Government of Iraq 1/2 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-8cGhazi, 1/2 Dinar, Signature 6. 1189962-008 Kingdom Of Iraq 1/2 Dinar - Law #44 PMGIraq
P-8dGhazi, 1/2 Dinar, Signature 7. 8004274-010 Kingdom Of Iraq Government Of Iraq 1/2 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-9aGhazi, 1 Dinar, Signature 3. 8003471-005 Kingdom Of Iraq 1 Dinar - Law Of #44 PMGIraq
P-9bGhazi, 1 Dinar, Signature 4. 8003542-003 Kingdom Of Iraq 1 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-9cGhazi, 1 Dinar, Signature 5. 8004457-001 Kingdom Of Iraq Government Of Iraq 1 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-9dGhazi, 1 Dinar, Signature 6. 8003542-004 Kingdom Of Iraq 1 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-9eGhazi, 1 Dinar, Signature 7. 8004274-013 Kingdom Of Iraq Government Of Iraq 1 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-10aGhazi, 5 Dinars, Signature 6. 8006772-002 Iraq Government of Iraq 5 Dinars - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-10bGhazi, 5 Dinars, Signature 7. 8013654-001 Iraq, Government of Iraq 5 Dinars - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-11aGhazi, 10 Dinars, Signature 6. No Note PMG 
P-11bGhazi, 10 Dinars, Signature 7. 8004880-001 Kingdom Of Iraq Government Of Iraq 10 Dinars - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-12aGhazi, 100 Dinars, Signature 5. No Note PMG 
P-12bGhazi, 100 Dinars, Signature 7. No Note PMG 
P-13Faisal II, 1/4 Dinar, Signature 8. 8005468-001 Iraq Government of Iraq 1/4 Dinar PMGIraq
P-14Faisal II, 1/2 Dinar, Signature 8. 1534572-001 Iraq, Government of Iraq 1/2 Dinar PMGIraq
P-15Faisal II, 1 Dinar, Signature 8. 8002964-001 Kingdom Of Iraq 1 Dinar - Law Of #44 PMGIraq
P-16aFaisal II, 1/4 Dinar, Signature 7. 8004274-004 Kingdom Of Iraq Government Of Iraq 1/4 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-16bFaisal II, 1/4 Dinar, Signature 9. 8004274-005 Kingdom Of Iraq Government Of Iraq 1/4 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-16cFaisal II, 1/4 Dinar, Signature 10. 8004274-006 Kingdom Of Iraq Government Of Iraq 1/4 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-17aFaisal II, 1/2 Dinar, Signature 7. 8004274-011 Iraq Government of Iraq 1/2 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-17bFaisal II, 1/2 Dinar, Signature 10. 8003471-006 Kingdom Of Iraq Government Of Iraq 1/2 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-18aFaisal II, 1 Dinar, Signature 7. 8003471-007 Kingdom Of Iraq 1 Dinar PMGIraq
P-18bFaisal II, 1 Dinar, Signature 9. 8003471-008 Kingdom Of Iraq 1 Dinar PMGIraq
P-19aFaisal II, 5 Dinars, Signature 7. 8003471-009 Kingdom Of Iraq 5 Dinars PMGIraq
P-19bFaisal II, 5 Dinars, Signature 9. 1203568-002 Iraq Government of Iraq 5 Dinars - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-20aFaisal II, 10 Dinars, Signature 7. 8006772-003 Iraq Government of Iraq 10 Dinars - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-20bFaisal II, 10 Dinars, Signature 9. 8009668-003 Iraq Government of Iraq 10 Dinars - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-21aFaisal II, 100 Dinars, Signature 7. No Note PMG 
P-21bFaisal II, 100 Dinars, Signature 9. No Note PMG 
P-22Faisal II, 1/4 Dinar, Signature 11. 8004274-017 Kingdom Of Iraq Government Of Iraq 1/4 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq
P-23Faisal II, 1/2 Dinar, Signature 11. 8006772-004 Iraq Government of Iraq 1/2 Dinar - Printer: BWC PMGIraq

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