When Iraqi forces occupied Kuwait in August 1990, they looted the Central Bank's vaults and removed substantial stocks of unissued currency — including notes from this series bearing serial prefix denominators 72 and 82. Those stolen notes subsequently circulated inside Iraq and appeared across regional markets, making authentication of this pick genuinely consequential rather than academic. Kuwait's post-liberation currency reform in 1991 rendered the entire series demonetized, which was precisely the mechanism intended to neutralize the looted stock.
Thomas De La Rue's production records for this issue were among the evidence used to distinguish legitimate pre-invasion holdings from the stolen material.
When Iraqi forces occupied Kuwait in August 1990, they looted the Central Bank's vaults and removed substantial stocks of unissued currency — including notes from this series bearing serial prefix denominators 72 and 82. Those stolen notes subsequently circulated inside Iraq and appeared across regional markets, making authentication of this pick genuinely consequential rather than academic. Kuwait's post-liberation currency reform in 1991 rendered the entire series demonetized, which was precisely the mechanism intended to neutralize the looted stock.
Thomas De La Rue's production records for this issue were among the evidence used to distinguish legitimate pre-invasion holdings from the stolen material.