A beautiful landscape on an interesting coin

Iraq

(The ziggurat of Ur, one of the oldest temples in Iraq. Image from cibiq.com.iq).

Last time we looked at Iraq, we touched on Iraq being the cradle of civilization, and on the Ottoman empire. The image above is a temple from the Sumerian civilisation, generally considered, the oldest known civilisation, hence the “Cradle of civilization” moniker for Iraq, the modern-day country where the civilization flourished. The Sumerians didn’t use modern currency, but rather barter and several forms of proto-currency such as axe heads and silver fashioned into coils.

(Metal coils of silver used for currency in Mesopotamia. From FactsAndDetails.com).

One notable event which took place after the 1959 issue of the previous coin we looked at, and 1975, was in 1961. In that year, Kuwait declared independence from Britain, terminating the Anglo-Kuwaiti Agreement of 1899. Abd al-Karim Qasim, who came to power in Iraq’s following the 1958 revolution, wanted Kuwait as part of Iraq. He justified this, based on that until 1914, Kuwait, under the Ottoman empire, had been part of the vilayet of Basra. This area encompasses modern-day Kuwait, and parts of Iraq, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The land grab was unsuccessful, but tensions prevailed through the 1970s. Perhaps this starts to give some historical context to the later 1990 Gulf War.

Obverse

The obverse actually looks similar to the obverse of the previous 1959 1 Fils – the country name above in Arabic letters “الجمهورية العراقية” which translates as “Republic of Iraq”. The denomination is in a circle in the centre, and a wheat ear and leaf below.

Iraq minted this coin from 1971 – 1981. In 1975, however, two versions were made. The other, was to commemorate the FAO, and featured extra inscription under the value, instead of the leaves.

Reverse

The reverse contains a very picturesque scene: three palm trees in foreground, row of trees in background both sides, years to the side. Almost anepigraphic (an image with no text), although it does have the year, in Gregorian (1975) and Islamic years (1395).

Iraq was once known as “The country with 30 million palm trees”. Iraq’s date palms, grown since ancient times, are national icons, along with their bounty. More recently they have been under threat, initially from conflict, but increasingly, from climate change.

(Workers picking dates high up in a date palm. From IraqiNews.com).

What is your favourite scene depicted on a coin? Let us know in the comments!