Iraq 1953 100 fils
This specimen was lot 71093 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Santa Ana, CA, February 2020), where it sold for $1,320. The catalog description[1] noted, "IRAQ. 100 Fils, AH1372//1953. NGC MS-65. A difficult coin to attain in any grade, this MS 65 example is valued at over $1000. Faisal II ruled as king, 1953-1958. Superb silvery toning and essentially mark free fields." Iraq was for centuries a province of the Ottoman Empire but was coveted by the British for her oil deposits in the aftermath of World War One. Made a mandate of the League of Nations in 1922, a puppet kingdom was set up with a branch of the Hashemite clan as king. The kingdom lasted until Faisal II's overthrow in 1958 by an army junta which included Saddam Hussein. In 1959, the new regime issued all new coins. This type was struck 1953 only and was accompanied by one fils (KM 109), 2 fils (KM 110), 4 fils (KM 111), 10 fils (KM 112), 20 fils (KM 113) and 50 fils (KM 114). Recorded mintage: 1,200,000 + 200 proofs.
Specification: 10 g, 0.900 fine silver, 29 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-115.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The February 2020 Collector's Choice sale: World and Ancient Coins, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2020.
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