Iraq Kingdom - Part 1: Circulation Coins

Set Description
The Kingdom of Iraq was the sovereign state of Iraq during and after the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. The kingdom began in August 1921 with the coronation of Faisal bin al-Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi as King Faisal I. The kingdom ended in 1958 when the monarchy was overthrown in a coup led by Abd al-Karim Qasim, proclaiming the Republic of Iraq.

This is a two-part set of coins featuring the coins of the Kingdom of Iraq. The first part (current page) consists of all the circulating coins, including all date and mintmark varieties. The second part consists of the proof coins made during the kingdom period.

The monetary system used was simple. The main currency unit was the Iraqi Dinar, which consisted of 5 Riyals. The Riyal was equal to 4 Dirhams. The Dirham was equal to 50 Fils. In other words, 1 Dinar = 5 Riyals = 20 Dirhams = 1000 Fils

Generally, the coins can be divided into three main groups, based on the reigning monarch at the time the coins were minted.

# King Faisal I #

Though Faisal I began his reign in 1921, under the British Mandate, coins were only struck in 1931. The King died of a heart attack 2 years later. During this time, circulating coins were minted in 1931 (6 coins), 1932 (1 coin), and 1933 (7 coins).

# King Ghazi #

Ghazi succeeded the throne after Faisal I's death at 21 years of age. His reign was short-lived nonetheless as he died in 1939 under mysterious circumstances involving a car accident in a sports car. During his reign, circulating coins were minted in 1936 (1 coin), 1937 (2 coins), 1938 (14 coins, including 5 that were struck in Bombay), and 1939 (1 coin).

# King Faisal II #

The third and last monarch of this short-lived Kingdom reigned longer than his father and grandfather combined, though he died younger than both of them. That is because he became king at the young age of 4. He was eventually assassinated on July 14, 1958. During his reign, circulating coins were minted in 1943 (2 coins), 1953 (7 coins), and 1955 (3 coins).

With a couple of exceptions, this set is not very difficult to complete in lower grades, but completing it in UNC / BU is a different story as many of the coins are extremely rare in high grades such as the 1 Riyal 1932. The rarest coins in the series are the 100 Fils 1955 and the 20 Fils 1933 with the Hijra date error.

Set Goals
All of the circulation coins issued by the Kingdom of Iraq (1931-1955).

LINKS
Part 1 | Part 2