Iraq 1959 50 fils
This specimen was part of lot 22841 in Heritage sale 3010 (Boston, August 2010), which sold for $805. The catalog description[1] noted, "Republic Six Coin Proof Set 1959, Coins individually are 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 & 100 Fils. Cataloged as KM-PS3. Housed in its original case of issue. 400 mintage." 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 including 400 proof sets. This denomination was not minted again until 1969 (KM 128) and then in copper-nickel.
Recorded mintage: 24,000,000 plus 400 proofs.
Specification: 5 g, 0.500 fine silver, 23 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 123, KM PS3 for the proof set.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Tucker, Warren, Scott Cordry and John Kraljevich, Heritage Sale 3010: World Coins, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2010.
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