Counterfeit 1992 Iraq 1 Dinar?

Hi everybody,

I recently received a 1992 Iraq 1 Dinar banknote, and it seems that it may be a counterfeit.

First, the note is very blurry and the serial number is very sloppy. There are ink spots around the numbers and even on the reverse.

Additionally, the patterns on the edge of the bill continue considerably farther than the ones seen in the pictures from the catalog. (https://en.numista.com/catalogue/note204471.html)


Also, the banknote measures 145 x 67 mm, while the Numista page says it should be 143 x 65 mm.

I am unsure whether or not there is supposed to be a watermark, so if you know the answer to that let me know. However, there does appear to be a blank area suited for a watermark, but the note shows nothing when held to the light. Again, I do not know if there even is supposed to be a watermark, so this may not mean anything.

Lastly, it appears to have been printed in very low quality, as small dots are visible upon close inspection.



However, I did read that after the 1991 Gulf War, Iraqi currency was printed in China on low-quality newspaper presses and were often improperly cut, so this may just be a normal banknote under these circumstances. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_dinar#Banknotes)

Let me know what you guys think about this.

Although my copy of the SCWPM documents that the "1992-1993 Emergency Issue" has "dull lithographic printing. With faint indelible ink wmk" I doubt that your note is fake. Hold it up to a strong light and look at it again with a magnifying glass. It's easy to miss these minor security features (all the more so if the note was produced cheaply). Images look legit to me.

The reason I am inclined to think your note is genuine is that it is rare that crooks would go to all the trouble of producing a bogus banknote & pick the low 1 Dinar denomination (1 Dinar = about $1 USD at the time it was printed, the value has since declined drastically so pennies now).

On a side note:
What periodically occurs are manufactured "Errors" where a legit low denomination is made to look like an error after it has been tampered with - but this is much more common with US, UK or other stronger currencies which have a larger collector base (ie market to be sold at an inflated price). It would be extraordinarily unlikely on an Iraqi note.

I remember reading a while ago, that some notes were really poor printed. I don't remember exactly if this note was among that series, but I don't think that's a fake.

I have a few Iraqi 1992 banknotes that looks like play money. Considering the 1990's was a tought time for Iraq, they probably had very little money and resources to print their money, so whatever they had would have to do. For example, I have three 25 dinars notes, which all look different. Two doesn't have a watermark, one has. The colours are different too.

Please take a look here: