Currency Exchange Iraqi Dinar
Major changes have been taking place in Iraq since America attacked the saddam government. And one of them was the currency change. The old dinar which had a picture of Saddam and was used in the Northern Iraq and the swiss dinar used in the rest of Iraq were both replaced by a new Iraqi dinar, creating a new unified currency for the whole of Iraq.
The exchange started from 15th October 2003 and lasted till 15th January 2004. The currency was exchanged only in banks and post offices located within Iraq and no fee was charged for the exchange. The conversion rates for the new Iraqi dinar was like, one new Iraqi dinar for one old Iraqi dinar and 150 new Iraqi dinars for one old swiss dinar. These exchange rates were chosen after consultation with the Iraqi Central Bank and the leaders of Northern Iraq in order to equalise prices all over Iraq. The new currency had six denominations and were printed by De La Rue. It contained latest anti-counterfeit measures, such as watermarks, security thread, raised letters, optical ink, etc. that would make it difficult to counterfeit.
After Operation Desert Storm, the Kuwaiti dinar increased dramatically in value and those who had invested in it, made huge profits. The new Iraqi dinar was considered to be a similar good investment that would increase in value. Since the US Presidential Order 13303 and the Coalition Provisional Government Order 39 both gave US citizens the same rights of investment in Iraq as an Iraqi citizen, this seemed to be a good investment opportunity as far as Americans were concerned. One million Iraqi dinars could be bought for as little as US$680 to US$1200. Though the value has not increased dramaticaly, there is still the possibility that the Iraqi government may get out of the mess, in which case, the economy of the oil-rich country will prosper and the investors will make huge profits.
There are certain risks adhering to the purchase of Iraqi dinars and one must be aware of them. There are many websites offering to sell money at below the market rate. Many are fake and there are others who sell small bills in a damaged condition. These bills are not accepted by most of the banks and do not have any value for the purchaser. Another big risk that investors invite while purchasing Iraqi dinar, are counterfeit dinars. And with such a huge demand for Iraqi dinars, counterfeiters are having a field day. There are some ways to recognize counterfeit from genuine Iraqi money. Counterfeit dinars may not have a watermark or the security thread. There might be an absence of raised letters or metallic ink. The counterfeit dinar will not glow under ultra violet lights. A few tips are given below to check the authenticity of Iraqi money. Black light bulbs, available at any hardware store, can be used to est for watermarks such as the horse head. Another test is to use a special pen, available from a stationary shop, to detect fake currency notes with hanging color. One can also hold up the 25,000 and 10,000 denomination bills to the light. The color changing ink should look like a hologram in genuine currency.
There are also other concerns regarding the legality of the websites selling
the money. For example, the websites selling Iraqi dinars may also be used
as a vehicle to fund terrorism or money laundering businesses. There are also
concerns about investment or securities fraud posed by these websites. Considering
all the above, it is a good idea to keep in touch with the economic and political
scenario in Iraq as well as completely check out the website or organization
selling Iraqi currency before deciding on any purchase.
Other Articles