Neno, feel free to move this if in the wrong place.
I want to purpose a theory about the lower denominations to the forum for discussion. Please keep in mind this is ONLY a theory on my part but I think it has some merit and I haven't seen it theorized before. I have always had a curiosity about the lower denoms so I try to keep an eye out for anything that could solve the mystery about them and today I found an article that peaked my interest enough to research it further.
Part of article:
One way to bring about a new currency would have been to print up new
Swiss dinars and distribute them around the country. This plan would have absolved
the Coalition from making the tricky political decision of what or who should appear
on the faces of the new banknotes. But spreading the Swiss dinar would have meant that
the center and south home of more than 80 percent of the population would have
had to change their prices and wages. The solution came when a visiting currency expert
pointed out that the technology existed to change the denominations on the Swiss dinar
plates without affecting the designs on their faces. Existing Swiss plates could thus be
modified to create higher-denomination dinars that would be in line with the price level
in most of the country. The new dinars could then be exchanged at a one-to-one rate with the Saddam dinar. To prevent confusion with existing Swiss dinars, the new dinars would also be printed in different colors. Anti-counterfeiting measures would also be included.
http://www.bos.frb.org/economic/ppdp/2004/ppdp0401.pdf
Another article:
DeLaRue began printing in late July, following agreement that the new notes would be based on a pre-existing design (from the pre-Saddam Iraqi currency), the Swiss dinar (still in use in the Kurdish area at that point).
Sinan Al-Shabibi, Governor, Central Bank of Iraq
Given its history of stability, the Swiss dinar is a reasonable choice as the new money. An added benefit is the absence of Saddam's picture on these bills. To produce the new Swiss dinar bills, the U.S. Treasury had to ask the Bank of England to search for the original plates, last used in the 1980s. The unearthed plates provided the means to implement Iraq's new currency system."A step in the right direction for Iraq" (Economic Viewpoint, April 5, 2004) should have noted that the new Iraqi currency is an updated variant of the Swiss dinar, which previously had circulated in the Kurdish regions.
BW Online | April 5, 2004 | A Step In The Right Direction For Iraq
Now if you look at the Swiss Dinar notes we have this...
The P-65...10 (ten) dinar note is IDENTICAL to the NID 500 dinar note
The P-68...1/2 (half) dinar note is IDENTICAL to the NID 250 dinar note
The P-69...1 (one) dinar note is IDENTICAL to the NID 1000 dinar note
The P-70...5 (five) dinar note is IDENTICAL to the NID 5000 dinar note
The P-71..10 (ten) dinar note is IDENTICAL to the NID 10,000 dinar note
In summary this gives us 10 denominations...
1/2, 1, 5, 10, 10, 250, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000
The illustrations on the 25000 Dinar note are new. The Bank chose the design concept and it features a Kurdish lady farmer holding sheaf of just-cut wheat on the front side and King Hammurabi (wrote the first code of law in human history and founded the First Dynasty of Babylon in 1700 BC, leading Babylonia into a period of great prosperity) is on the back side.
De La Rue printed the Dinar used by Iraq prior to the Saddam Dinar and actually still had some of the old printing plates which were updated for the new money.
Hugh Tant III Hosts Ask the White House
With the 25,000 dinar that brings the total to 11 denominations...add the 25 and 100 dinar coins we have making it 13 denominations.
Adding the 50 dinar (not sure where this design came from) that brings the total dinar denominations to 14 (1/2, 1, 5, 10, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000, 25,000)
Now the 1980 or 1982...25 dinar note has 3 white horses on it, the front horse is IDENTICAL to the horsehead watermark on the dinar notes, so I think this note can be ruled out as it in a sense has been used on basically most if not all the dinar notes.
This leaves one dinar The P-67...1/4 (quarter) dinar note (1979) not used, and since we have two 10 dinar notes this note could be used in place of the P-65 or P-71 note for a lower denomination, my guess would be the 1/4 (quarter) dinar note.
So in theory, De La Rue printed the LOWER denominations FIRST then after the plates were used for this purpose they CHANGED the denominations using the existing technology to print the HIGHER denominations.
Maybe I am way off base about all this but I really believe I am 99% correct and these LOWER denominations have been right under our noses all along and we just haven't realized it. But in any case, let the bashing begin. :biggrin:
Cheers!
DayDream
