Guide to the New Iraqi Dinar

Since October 2003, the New Iraqi Dinar (IQD), has been the accepted legal currency of the new Republic of Iraq.

USA Today Reports on the Iraqi Dinar in Aug 2004

Boston Magazine Reports in the Iraqi Dinar in Oct 2006

History of the New Iraqi Dinar

The old Iraqi Dinar issued prior to October 2003 showed the image of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Following his removal in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Iraqi Governing Council made public display of images of Hussein illegal.

In October 2003 the United States Coalition Provisional Authority led by L. Paul Bremer authorized a new banknote issue comprised of denominations of 50, 250, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000 and 25,000 Dinar. It was quickly nicknamed "The Bremer Dollar". These new notes, printed by British-based currency printer De La Rue, replaced the old Dinar of Saddam's era. The new Dinar contains many of the latest, state-of-the-art security features that weren't found on the easy to counterfeit old Saddam-Era Dinar. It has many visible and invisible security features that are virtually impossible to reproduce. Old banknotes were exchanged for new at a one-to-one rate, except for the Swiss dinars, which were exchanged at a rate of 150 new dinars for one Swiss dinar. In 2004, new 25 and 100 dinar coins were also introduced.
Although the value of the dinar appreciated following the introduction of the new banknotes from 4000 dinars per U.S. dollar, at the time of their introduction, to a high of 980 dinars per dollar, it is now held at a "program" exchange rate, as specified by the International Monetary Fund, of 1260 dinars per US dollar at the Central Bank of Iraq. Since there is not yet a set international exchange rate, international banks do not yet exchange Iraqi dinar. The exchange rate available on the streets of Iraq as of April 2006 is around 1500 dinars per US dollar.

Info about the Iraqi Dinar on the Web

Coalition Provisional Authority policy on the New Iraqi Dinar: The C.P.A., led by L. Paul Bremer, states their official US policy on the issuing of new Iraqi currency in October 2003.
Current Exchange Rate of the Iraqi Dinar: The Central Bank of Iraq website is the official web source for the current exchange rate
De La Rue - The Printer on the New Iraqi Dinar: Visit the website of the company involved in the production of over 150 national currencies throughout the world.
Download a pdf of the US Presidential Order #13303: On May 28, 2003, US President George W. Bush issued a Presidential Order allowing for investment by US citizens in Currency, Stocks, Bonds, Real Estate and Business in Iraq.
Discuss the dinar at InvestorsIraq.com: Investment in the Iraqi Dinar has become a popular subject of discussion on the web. Visit the most visited discussion forum, InvestorsIraq.com to learn more.
International Monetary Fund Policy on the Iraqi Dinar: Read the March 13, 2007 Press Release by the International Monetary Fund regarding their policy on the Iraqi Dinar.
Warka Bank for Investment & Finance: Visit the website of the most widely used bank by foreign investors in the Iraqi Dinar. Warka Bank currently is opening accounts via proxy for US & other foreign investors. They open accounts in US Dollars and convert the funds to Iraqi Dinar. The bank also (via proxy) is allowing "ground-level" opportunities to foreign investors in the Iraqi Stock Exchange (ISX) in hopes that the ISX will open to direct foreign Investment in the near future.
Iraqi Dinar on Wikipedia: Read more about the Iraqi Dinar history, speculation, coins, banknotes and more!
Currency Converter from Coinmill.com: Use this handy online calculator to determine the current (IQD) Currency Exchange Rate. Rates are updated daily from Yahoo Finance.

Speculation of the Iraqi Dinar

Since its issue in October 2003, currency speculators have increasingly embraced the New Iraqi Dinar as an easily obtained, high-risk investment in the future economic prosperity of a stablized Iraq.
Since the currency is not currently traded on the world foreign currency exchange market (FOREX), most speculators have either purchased the actual banknotes, or have opened accounts in Iraqi Banks such as Warka Bank. They are investing with the hope that their investment in the dinar will enjoy substantial increases in the currency exchange rate when the new Republic of Iraq is officially opened to foreign trade.
On May 3, 2007, the International Monetary Fund released a statement in relation to the international compact with Iraq, which has turned the tide in regards to speculation on the Iraq dinar. The contents of the article discuss changes made in Iraq on the economic front of how the Iraq government had eliminated fuel subsidies. The article also stated that the Central Bank of Iraq had raised interest rates in an attempt to allow a gradual appreciation of the dinar in an attempt to fight dollarization of the Iraq economy. Although there are claims of wide-spread optimism of some language used later in the press release among some dinar speculators, there have been no publicly released statements or analysis by any news sources or governments regarding any official changes in the foreign exchange policies of the Iraqi Dinar as of June 11, 2007.