The formation of the Federation was
a significant factor in galvanizing opposition to the monarchy amongst nationalist elements in Iraq
and probably assisted in promoting action by elements opposed to the monarchy. The First Banknotes of the Central Bank of Iraq
Peter Symes
In 1958 the banknotes of the National Bank of Iraq were circulating in Iraq. This was despite the fact that the ‘Law of the Central Bank of Iraq No.72/1956’, creating the Central Bank of Iraq, was gazetted on 1 July 1956. This law effectively changed the powers and the name of Iraq’s central bank, from the ‘National Bank of Iraq’ to the ‘Central Bank of Iraq’. However, the events of 1958 were to see a monumental change in the rule and administration of Iraq that would lead to significant changes in the banknotes circulating in Iraq—changes that went beyond the title of the issuing authority.
The first event of significance in 1958 was the founding of the Arab Federation between Iraq
and Jordan, announced in Ammam on 14 February 1958. The Federation united the Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan, under the reign of King Hussein, with the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq, under
the rule of King Faisal II. Both kings traced their immediate families to King Hussein, the former
king of the Hijaz. The Arab Federation had numerous aims, including the goals of establishing one
parliament, one army, a common customs zone and single ministries of Defence, Justice and Foreign
Affairs. They also planned to unify the currencies of Iraq and Jordan. King Faisal of Iraq was to be
Head of State with King Hussein of Jordan being deputy Head of State; although each monarch
would retain constitutional authority in their own kingdom.
The formation of the Federation was
a significant factor in galvanizing opposition to the monarchy amongst nationalist elements in Iraq
and probably assisted in promoting action by elements opposed to the monarchy.
In early July 1958 Iraq sent troops to Jordan as a display of force and a show of unity between the two states of the Federation. By this time the structure of a revolution was in place and, as troops passed through Baghdad on their way to Jordan, the revolutionaries took control of the capital in the early hours of 14 July 1958 under the direction of Brigadier Abdul Karim Kassem. King Faisal II, Crown Prince Abdul Ilah Hafidh and Nuri al-Said (Prime Minister of the Arab Federation and former Prime Minister of Iraq) were assassinated during the revolt. The overthrow of the monarchy and the introduction of a republican regime brought widespread changes to Iraq.
Most of the changes wrought on Iraq are of peripheral interest to this study, but a change of currency was inevitable since all banknotes issued in Iraq carried a portrait of the monarch. The change did take place, but perhaps without the alacrity that might have been expected.
The change in name from the ‘National Bank of Iraq’ to the ‘Central Bank of Iraq’ had
occurred on 1 July 1956 during the period of the monarchy, but the first notes of the Central Bank
were not issued until some months after the monarchy had been overthrown in 1958. The first
banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Iraq constituted the eighth series of banknotes issued in Iraq
and the notes of this series were released into circulation on 5 February 1959
(although the date of 2 February has also been reported
).
The notes of the eighth series had been ordered some months prior to the revolution that toppled the monarchy. It is not known why there was a delay in introducing these notes. It seems reasonable to expect that notes prepared for the new issuing authority might have been introduced at the earliest opportunity, but there may have been sufficient notes in circulation or there may have been administrative machinations that delayed their introduction.
The eighth series of banknotes consists of two parts, the initial release of a quarter- and a half-dinar note, followed by the release of quarter-, one-, five- and ten-dinar notes. Carrying illustrations of King Faisal II, the quarter- and half-dinar notes of the initial release were exactly the same as the notes of the previous series issued by the National Bank of Iraq, except for the following modifications:
• The title of the issuing authority was changed to ‘Central Bank of Iraq’
• The notes continue to carry the signature of Abdul Ilah Hafidh, but his title is now ‘Governor’ as opposed to ‘Governor General’, which was the title of the signatory used on all issues for the National Bank of Iraq
• The quarter-dinar note uses a brighter green
Details of each note are as follows, with reference being made to the catalogue numbers of the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money (SCWPM):
Denomination – ¼ Dinar
SCWPM No. 42
Size – 128 x 66 mm
Dominant colour – Green
Illustration on back – Date palms.
Denomination – ½ Dinar
SCWPM No. 43
Size – 140 x 72 mm
Dominant colour – Brown
Illustration on back – The ruins of the Great Mosque and the Malwiyah Minaret at Samarra.
Although the first two notes issued under this release maintained the portrait of King Faisal II that was used on the previous issue, subsequent notes carried the portrait of a more mature King.
The principal change to the notes of the second installment of the eighth issue is that they carry the later portrait. All other design features, including the watermark, remain constant with the design introduced for the first two notes issued by the Central Bank. The notes continue to carry the signature of the assassinated Crown Prince, Abdul Ilah Hafidh.
The only modification to any note occurred with the five-dinar note, which was the first five-dinar note issued by the Central Bank. Five-dinar notes of this issue used a brighter red to that used on the earlier five-dinar notes issued by the National Bank. Details of each note are as follows:
Denomination – ¼ Dinar
SCWPM No. 46
Size – 128 x 66 mm
Dominant colour – Green
Illustration on back – Date palms.
Denomination – 1 Dinar
SCWPM No. 48
Size – 153 x 78 mm
Dominant colour – Blue
Illustration on back – A statue of King Faisal I mounted on his steed.
Denomination – 5 Dinars
SCWPM No. – 49
Size – 165 x 85 mm
Dominant colour – Red
Illustration on back – Hammurabi receiving the code of laws from Shamash the Sun God, who was also the God of Justice.
Denomination – 10 Dinars
SCWPM No. 50
Size – 178 x 92 mm
Dominant colour – Violet
Illustration on back – A winged Assyrian bull and an Assyrian priest.
Nota Bene: SCWPM No. 47, the ½ Dinar with the final portrait of Faisal II, was never issued, although it is believed to exist as a specimen note.
The ‘Immortal’ revolution of 14 July 1958 saw the overthrow of the monarchy and the creation of the Republic of Iraq. On 8 August 1958, less than a month after the revolution, the Arab News Agency reported that the Iraqi Government was minting a new currency that would gradually replace the money in circulation.
The report was a little premature in recording official activity, as the law authorizing the introduction of the new ‘Republican’ currency was not promulgated until six months later. Indeed, not only did the notes issued by the National Bank continue to circulate but, as discussed above, the first notes issued by the Central Bank, with the portrait of the deposed king, were introduced in February 1959, some seven months after the revolution. Undoubtedly the leaders of the revolution would have been keen to introduce a new design for their notes, but the actual introduction of new designs took some time.
Law No. 92 of 1959, which was signed on 27 May 1959 (20 Dhil Qui’da 1378), cleared the way for the new currency to be introduced. The new law repealed all previous Iraqi currency laws and set regulations for numerous aspects of the issue and circulation of currency in republican Iraq. The new law saw the Central Bank of Iraq continue its role as the issuer of currency, although under Article 3 of this law ...
‘... currency notes and coins issued under the authority of previous laws and in circulation before the issue of this Law shall be deemed to be of the standard of currency established by Article 2 of this Law until they are cancelled by Republican Ordinance.’
Shortly after the promulgation of this law the ninth series of bank notes issued in Iraq was released into circulation. The notes were issued from 8 July 1959
under Republican Ordinance No. 459 of
4 July 1959
. (Republican Ordinances No. 460 of 5 July 1959 and No. 649 of 19 September 1959 authorized the design and introduction of the new coins.)
The notes of the first republican issue carried the same backs as the notes of the previous issue, with one notable exception, and the fronts of the notes are very similar. The principal change in design on the front of the notes is the use of the Emblem of the Republic of Iraq in place of the portrait of King Faisal II. The text on the notes is also modified, with the phrase referring to Law No. 42 of 1947 being removed. The quarter-dinar note also has the border that had originally surrounded King Faisal removed, although the borders remain unchanged for the other denominations.
Republican Ordinance No.459 describes the new issues, with the common features on the front of each note being:
• the words ‘Central Bank of Iraq’ in Arabic
• the Emblem of the Republic of Iraq at the right, and
• underneath the text for the denomination, in the centre of the notes, is the Arabic text: ‘Currency Note Issued Under the Law’.
The watermark on the notes of the quarter-, half- and one-dinar notes is of the Emblem of Republican Iraq, while on the 5- and 10-dinar notes it is the ‘symbol of the immortal Revolution’ (see description and comment below). The back of each note carried designs similar to the notes previously issued by the National and Central Banks, with the text continuing to be in English. The exception was the 1-dinar note, where the previously used equestrian statue of King Faisal I was replaced with the Lyre of Ur.
The peculiar wording of Article 4 of Ordinance 459, which authorized the introduction of these notes, states: ‘The notes provided for in this Ordinance shall begin to be used on any date preceding 14th July 1959’. The Ordinance was signed on 4 July 1959 and it is understood that the notes were issued from 8 July 1959 (see above).
The notes were initially signed by Nadhim al-Zahawi and then by Abdul Latif al-Shawaf.
The 1-dinar note was subsequently signed by Khayer al-Din Haseeb. Saleh Kubba then signed all
denominations except the 1-dinar note.
The individual specifications of these notes are:
Denomination – ¼ Dinar
SCWPM No. 51
Size – 128 x 66 mm
Dominant colour – Green
Illustration on back – Date palms.
Signatures
a) Nadhim al-Zahawi
b) Abdul Latif al-Shawaf
c) Saleh Kubba
Denomination – ½ Dinar
SCWPM No. 52
Size – 140 x 72 mm
Dominant colour – Brown
Illustration on back – The ruins of the Great Mosque and the Malwiyah Minaret of Samarra.
Signatures
a) Nadhim al-Zahawi
b) Abdul Latif al-Shawaf
c) Saleh Kubba
Denomination – 1 Dinar
SCWPM No. 53
Size – 153 x 78 mm
Dominant colour – Blue
Illustration on back – The Lyre of Ur in the centre, while to the lower left and right are depictions of the statue of the Lion of Babylon.
Signatures:
a) Nadhim al-Zahawi
b) Abdul Latif al-Shawaf
c) Khayer al-Din Haseeb
Denomination – 5 Dinars
SCWPM No. 54
Size – 165 x 85 mm
Dominant colour – Red
Illustration on back – Hammurabi receiving the code of laws from Shamash the Sun God, who was also the God of Justice.
Signatures
a) Nadhim al-Zahawi
b) Abdul Latif al-Shawaf
c) Saleh Kubba
Denomination – 10 Dinars
SCWPM No. 55
Size – 178 x 92 mm
Dominant colour – Violet
Illustration on back – A winged Assyrian bull and an Assyrian priest.
Signatures
a) Nadhim al-Zahawi
b) Abdul Latif al-Shawaf
c) Saleh Kubba
The watermarks on the notes in this series are peculiar in that two different emblems are used. On the three lower-denomination notes the Emblem of the Republic is used, whilst on the two higher denominations the ‘symbol of the immortal Revolution created by Law No. 101 of 1959’ is used. As the Emblem of the Republic is also used as the principal design feature on the front of the notes, it is easy to see its form, but finding a reproduction of the ‘symbol of the immortal revolution’ is a little more difficult. The following descriptions are taken from official notices in the Iraq Weekly Gazette (printed in English).
Law No.57 of 1959 introduced the ‘Emblem of the Iraq Republic’ and Article 1, ‘Description of the Emblem’, is as follows:
‘The Emblem of the Iraqi Republic shall consist of a circle from which eight beams diffuse. Each beam consists of three stretchings, the colour of golden yellow. Between every two beams a deep red projection of a star emerges. Amidst th[a]t circle a blue area exists. In the centre of which there is a golden spike surrounded by a black wheel with eight rectangular projections at the inner side, encircled by a white ring that extends till the black circumference. In the middle of this white ring there is an Arabic sword that embraces the wheel at the left hand-side, and a Kurdish dagger that embraces it at the right hand-side. Between their two tops the phrase ‘THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ’ shall be written in Kufi writing, and between their hilts there is written the phrase ‘JULY 14’ and ‘1958’ underneath, in Kufi writing, too. The colour of the sword, the dagger and the Kufi writing is black.’
The emblem is an interesting concoction of symbols, of which the principal feature is based on ancient Akkadian symbols. Two of the deities in Akkadian religion were Shamash, the sun god, and Ishtar, the moon goddess. As the sun god, Shamash was represented by a symbol that consisted of a four-pointed star with three wavy sunbeams placed between each pair of points on the star. (Shamash, by the way, was also the god of justice and it is he who is represented on the back of the 5-dinar note giving the legal code to Hammurabi.) Ishtar was represented by an eight-pointed star. Therefore the eight-pointed star on the emblem of Iraq is a combination of these two symbols: the eight points of Ishtar’s star and the wavy sunbeams of Shamash’s sun. Officially, under the decrees of the Iraqi Republic, the sun represented:
a) The liberty, which Iraq regained by the July 14 Revolution by the time of sunrise
b) The Emblem of Justice that the Ancient Iraqis adopted before Christ
c) Naming Iraq after its old name ‘ARAQI’ which denoted ‘the country of the sun.’
The eight-pointed, or ‘octagonal’, star officially denoted ‘the Arabic star which is used in Arabic architecture’ and identified Iraq as part of the Arab Nation. The red colour of the star denoted the Iraqi Revolution of 14 July.
The Arabic sword and the Kurdish dagger were symbols chosen to unite the two peoples who inhabited Iraq. The ‘golden spike’ is in fact an ear of wheat and represented agriculture and life, while the black wheel with projections is evidently a cog, as it represents industry.
Law No.101 of 1959 implemented ‘The Innovation of the Symbol of the Revolution of 14 July 1958 (The Eternal Iraqi Revolution)’. This symbol was introduced to replace of the crown that had appeared on previous Iraqi emblems and badges used in the armed forces; although it could also be used as required by other orders and regulations. Thus, the symbol is predominantly used in the context of the military and its use on the banknotes is slightly incongruous. The description of the symbol is in Article 3 of the law:
‘The Symbol of the Revolution of 14 July 1958 (the Eternal Iraqi Revolution) shall consist of the word “the People” embraced on the low left part by an Arabian Sword and on its right by a Kurdish dagger. At the top of them shall be the 14th July Torch which inspires the people [with] the strength of their rapid advance and which symbolizes freedom which the people gained back on 14th July 1958. “The people”, the sword and the dagger, and the 14th July Torch all shall form an oval relief ornament. In the middle of the ornament, an equilateral triangle, in the inside of which the character “J” is written in the Koofi Script as symbol of the strength of the army and its incorporation with the strength of the people.’
The letter ‘J’ in the centre of the triangle is the first letter for the Arabic word for ‘army’, which is ‘Jaysh’. The Arabic word for ‘the People’ is ‘al-sha’ab’ and the word is written in a decorative form that constitutes most of the design. It is a common Arabic device to take a word and create a design or pattern from the word, as has been done in this case.
The first notes issued by the Iraqi Republic remained in circulation until 1968, when they were replaced by the second issue. During the period that they circulated there were just a couple of subtle changes made to the notes. The notes of the initial issue, signed by Nadhim al-Zahawi, carried no security thread. However, all subsequent emissions of these notes—which carried the signatures of Abdul Latif al-Shawaf, Saleh Kubba and Khayer al-Din Haseeb—included a security thread which ran through the notes to the right of centre.
The second subtle change occurs only in the 1-dinar note. When this note was first issued (with the signature of Nadhim al-Zahawi), the border patterns encompassing the watermark and the ‘Emblem of the Iraq Republic’ were light blue and the vertical blue lines that covered the rest of the note, as an under-print, were excluded from the border pattern and from the circle containing the watermark. In fact, the pattern in the area over the watermark was constructed using small noughts and crosses. (This colouring and representation of the pattern replicated the design that was on the earlier issues of the Central Bank of Iraq and the National Bank of Iraq.) On subsequent issues, the pattern encircling the watermark and the ‘Emblem of the Iraq Republic’ were consistent with the under-print on the rest of the note, where dark blue lines define the border and the vertical blue lines can be seen within the pattern of the border and within the circle containing the watermark.
Students of Iraqi notes tend to break Iraqi banknotes into various groups. Typically a major break is made between the issues under the monarchy and those under the republic, or between the issues of the National Bank and those of the Central Bank. As it transpires, all issues of the Central Bank occurred after the ‘Immortal’ revolution and therefore there is no temporal separation between these groups, although it is difficult to comprehend that the first banknotes issued by the republican regime consisted of notes bearing the portrait of the assassinated king. However, while the first notes issued under the republican regime carried the portrait of the king, it is those that carry the Emblem of the Iraqi Republic that are usually regarded as the ‘first’ republican issue.
A reasonably simple series, the ‘first’ republican issue contains one of the prettiest notes ever to be issued—the green quarter-dinar note. It is less cluttered than other notes in this issue and the clear, crisp lines of the green intaglio print are set off beautifully by a multicoloured under-print. For this note alone, the series is worth collecting.
Thanks:
Layth Al Muderis and Haider Al Saffar have assisted with aspects of this study and their input has been very welcome.
Bibliography:
This article was completed in March 2005
© Peter Symes