Iraq 1953 50 fils
This specimen was lot 1375 in Stephen Album sale 38 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2020), where it sold for $7,735. The catalog description[1] noted, "IRAQ: Faisal II, 1939-1958, AR 50 fils, 1953/AH1372, brilliant luster, mintage of 200, NGC graded Proof 60, R." 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 100 fils (KM 115).
Recorded mintage: 560,000 + 200 proofs.
Specification: 9 g, 0.500 fine silver, 26.5 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]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 38, featuring the Dabestani Collection of Persian Coins, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2020.
Link to: