Iraq 1973 500 fils
This specimen was lot 7488 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2022), where it sold for $840. The catalog description[1] noted, "IRAQ. 500 Fils, AH 1393/1973. PCGS PROOF-68 Deep Cameo. Pop: 1, none graded finer in Deep Cameo by PCGS. Struck to commemorate oil nationalization. A pleasing Proof with frosty devices and dark, reflective fields." This design also appeared on KM 138 (nickel 250 fils) and KM 140 (silver dinar). Iraq, long a part of the Ottoman Empire, was seized by the British at the end of World War One but then granted independence under a local monarchy which ruled until 1958. In 1973, Iraq was dominated by a military regime but Saddam Hussein had not yet taken over.
Recorded mintage: 260,000 plus 5,000 proofs.
Specification: nickel, 36 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-139.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The 2022 NYINC Sale: World and Ancient Coins, featuring the Mark and Lottie Salton Collection and the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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