250 Fils IYC

The 1979 Iraqi 250 Fils was struck to mark the International Year of the Child, a UN initiative that prompted commemorative issues from dozens of nations that year. Iraq's participation came at an awkward political moment — Saddam Hussein formally assumed the presidency in July 1979, consolidating Ba'athist control through a purge that eliminated dozens of senior party members within weeks of this coin's issue.

KM#144 is not a scarce type, but circulated examples are harder to find than the mintage would suggest, as many were set aside at the time.