Iraqi Dinar Market Prices (in USD) Surprisingly Low in Lieu of Growing Volume
By: Peter F. Egan Jr.
Iraqi Dinar market prices have remained stable over the course of the last ten or so months while other ‘exotic’ currencies popular among collectors have seen supply dwindle while demand increased exponentially, resulting in a sharp imbalance, and consequently a corresponding increase in prices.
Iraqi dinar prices are right at about where they were at the start of 2021, a far cry from most of 2020 when the Iraqi currency was scarce and the prices considerably above where they’ve been thus far in 2021. Regardless of whether someone is buying Dinar on eBay, buying from a specialty Dinar dealer like Treasury Vault, or buying from individuals and/or small business owners in the Mid East; one million Dinar will cost you on average $1,250-$1,650.
The prices vary a bit more when dealing in increments smaller than one million, as is the case with most products purchased in a retail setting compared to buying in bulk.
For much of 2020 (spring through mid-fall), to find a million IQD for less than $1,500 required a bit of skill with a side of good luck. Smaller quantities sold for a ballpark average (estimated) of around $2 per 1,000 dinars.
So while IQD prices have actually gone down in the past year, the same cannot be said of several other ‘exotic’ currencies commonly grouped together with dinar for a variety of reasons, notably the hyperinflation associated with them, in some cases governmental instability and in all cases the lack of traditional financial institutions and money services businesses willing to deal in them. Two of the most notable among these are the Vietnamese Dong and Indonesia Rupiah. Both have seen their prices increase as availability has waned.
While no longer a currency, the same can also be said of the 2008 Zimbabwe dollar. As recently as December a TEN TRILLION dollar bill from the 2008 Zim series (aka: “Zim bond”) could be had for $3-$5. Today they’re $25-$50, and showing no signs of returning to pre-2021 levels. That having been said, those appear to be a bit of an exception as the highest denominations of banknote ever printed as legal tender anywhere in the world.
That fact will always keep the '08 Zim notes popular among collectors, but lately we've been speaking with some buyers who've explained that they view the 2008 Zimbabwe currency as an investment that will return actual yield on top of principal. The thinking here lies within a few words written on the notes themselves. Specifically, "I promise to pay the bearer on demand." Since the notes are absent an expiration date, there are people who believe they'll be able to one day take their $100 Trillion dollar Zimbabwe banknotes from 2008 (as well as all the other denominations - the same ones that were demonetized the following year) and bring them into a bank and swap them out for 100 Trillion US dollars, or some percentage of 100 trillion.
While this author personally holds Iraqi dinar, Vietnamese dong, Indonesian currency, Nigerian Naira among several other currencies that would be classified as "weak" next to the dollar, I admit I have my doubts about the whole 2008 Zimbabwe money constituting bond notes that will one day be redeemable for actual currency that's legal tender in at least one country on earth.