The Novelty of Buying Iraqi Dinars

The Iraqi dinar is still an exotic currency to own since its primary export, oil, is sold in dollars. That does not mean that you cannot buy Iraqi dinars. In fact, buying Iraqi dinars could be a unique gift that will be remembered for a long while.

The Iraqi currency can be purchased from dealers that have new, uncirculated bills. While the dinar currency value is subject to volatile drops, it remains a collectible item nonetheless. Regardless of how the value changes when buying Iraqi dinars, there are more than billions of dinars being sold monthly in the U.S.

As the “cradle of civilization” has changed, the Iraq currency has evolved through its ups and downs as well. The currency that was printed and distributed prior to the Gulf War was called Swiss currency or the Swiss dinar because it used a Swiss printing technology to create it. In 1991, because of the U.N. sanctions that technology was no longer available. Prior to that, the Indian rupee was used since it was the currency of the then British occupation. Between 2003 and 2004, the provisional government in Iraq created a new dinar that would unify the countries currency.

The Central Bank of Iraq issued 10,000 dinar notes in 2002 that could be used for larger transactions. The current exchange rate is around 1,100 to 1,200 dinars per dollar. The current notes consist of 50, 250, 500, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 25,000 dinar notes. Generally in terms of buying Iraqi dinars, you may be able to purchase the 10,000 and 25,000 dinar notes.

The Iraqi economy is generally driven by their oil exports, that may provide a little bit of stability when considering the war and unrest seen in the region. In fact, in 2011, the oil industry was increasing to pre war levels and the annual exports were predicted to be well above 1.9 million barrels of oil per day. Inflation, since 2006, has increased and may be evident in the value of buying iraqi dinars.