Catalog
100 Dinars
| Issuer | Government of Iraq |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
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| Reference(s) | P#21 |
| Obverse description | At right, an intaglio-engraved circular vignette contains a portrait of the young King Faisal II as a child, set within an elaborate guilloche framework that fills the face of the note. The central panel carries Arabic text stating the denomination and statutory convertibility inscription, with 'Baghdad' inscribed below; two manuscript signatures appear at lower centre. The note number is printed twice in the upper and lower margins, flanking the main design field. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed in blue-grey intaglio and letterpress, the reverse carries the bold English title 'GOVERNMENT OF IRAQ' across the top and 'ONE HUNDRED DINARS' in large serif capitals at centre. A large circular guilloche medallion at left bears the inscription '100 DINARS', while an unprinted circular area at right serves as the watermark window; repeated numeral '100' cornerpieces frame the overall composition. A central rectangular panel contains the full convertibility clause in English. |
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| Comments |
Iraq's wartime administration under British occupation issued this note through the Government of Iraq rather than the National Bank, a deliberate arrangement that kept currency issuance under direct administrative control during a politically unstable period. The 1941 Rashid Ali coup and the subsequent Anglo-Iraqi War had made London acutely conscious of fiscal leverage in the region.
Bradbury Wilkinson's New Malden facility handled production, as it did for a substantial portion of British colonial and mandate-adjacent currency during the war years. The 100 Dinar denomination was effectively a high-value instrument in a country where most transactions ran far lower — circulation at this level was narrow.