Catalog
5 Dinars
| Issuer | Central Bank of Iraq |
|---|---|
| Year | 1959 |
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| Printer | Bradbury Wilkinson and Company, United Kingdom (1856-1990) |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio portrait of King Faisal II as a young man in three-quarter view at right, set within an ornate octagonal frame against a dense red guilloche underprint. The Arabic inscription of the bank name appears at top centre, with the denomination rendered in Arabic script at upper left and lower centre. A large decorative cartouche occupies the left field, flanked by intricate arabesque borders running the full perimeter of the note. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The 1959 series was the first coinage of the newly proclaimed Iraqi Republic, issued less than a year after the July 1958 revolution that overthrew the Hashemite monarchy and executed King Faisal II. Replacing a currency that bore royal imagery required speed; Bradbury Wilkinson, long experienced with colonial and post-colonial transition issues across the Middle East, was the natural choice for a government needing competent work quickly.
Bradbury Wilkinson's New Malden facility produced the bulk of Iraq's mid-century paper currency, and the relationship predated the republic — continuity of printer across a regime change says something about how few firms could meet the security and volume requirements of a national issue.