100 Dinars Hijra

Issued to commemorate the 1,400th anniversary of the Islamic Hijra calendar, this coin was produced under the Ba'athist government at a moment when Saddam Hussein — formally elevated to the presidency just the year before — was actively using state resources to project legitimacy both domestically and abroad. The Hijra anniversary provided a politically convenient framework for a regime keen to present itself as a guardian of Islamic heritage despite its secular foundations.

Iraq invaded Iran just months after this coin's release, and subsequent international sanctions effectively ended commemorative gold program continuity for years.