Iraqi Dinar Buying Guide - Who Else Wants To Sit At Home In Their Underwear And Make Millions?

Kind of a stupid question right, who wouldn't want to?

Well some places that sell Iraqi Dinar seem to promise just that. One big problem, scam artists are everywhere, and if you are not aware of the pitfalls and are not educated, it doesn't matter if the Iraqi Dinar takes off like a rocket.

You could have been cheated out of all the great things that are to come.

There are a myriad of ways you can be cheated and I think it would be a shame to take a huge chance actually be right, but not reap the benefits you deserve.

I can just imagine years from now some poor sucker who held on to counterfeit Dinar marching triumphantly to the bank only to have their dreams crushed when they find out what they were sold was not authentic.

And where will the person who sold them this junk be? Long gone. That is why I have put together an Iraqi Dinar Buying Guide to protect people from this scenerio. The Iraqi Dinar Buying Guide will give you the basics you need to know to not get cheated. That doesn't mean you can't be cheated in other ways, but hopefully this will help you avoid being cheated.

Step 1: Do Your Research

Do some research on where you can purchase some high quality New Iraqi Dinar. Make sure it is New Iraqi Dinar, not the old Saddam Hussein era notes. There are a great number of sites out there that want to sell you these notes, but be careful. There are some rules and regulations you will want to follow too, and you need to make sure that you are dealing with an honest and authentic dealer.

Currency that is in high demand is the perfect vehicle for counterfeiters and scam artists to print off their laser printers at home and sell to an unsuspecting public. That is why it is crucial you read these important steps that can help guide you to buying from the right people. The last thing you want to do is buy your New Iraqi Dinar, sit on it for a few years and find out when you go to turn it in for your millions that it is counterfiet and the scoundrel who sold it to you has left the country.

I have a great website that reviews the top New Iraqi Dinar dealers and keeps a top ten list of the most trust worthy and reliable dealers on its page.

Step 2 Make Sure the Dealer Uses a De-La-Rue Currency Counter:

After you have made a decision to purchase the New Iraqi Dinar and you have found someone you think you can trust my advice is that you trust them, but check and double check the New Iraqi Dinar, very, very carefully. Make sure to ask the online dealer if they offer a guarantee of authenticity and if they verify the currency through a De La Rue note counter.

Every New Iraqi Dinar should be run through a De-La-Rue   currency counter with counterfeit detection capabilities. There are other models that can detect counterfeits for New Iraqi Dinar, but from what I hear this is the most commonly used one. This De-La-Rue machine is the best counterfeit detection machine available for the Iraqi currency. Incidentally, it is made by the same company that printed the currency. Some dealers will tell you De-La-Rue does not make a machine yet that can verify New Iraqi Dinar, my guess is that they don’t want to spend the money for the machine and you should probably avoid them at all costs.

A guarantee of delivery and reasonable price are also important, but you want to make sure that the items you are purchasing are authentic.

Step 3: If Possible, Pay with a Credit Card

After you have decided on a dealer I suggest you use a dealer where you can pay with  a credit card. That way if something goes wrong with your shipment you can dispute the charge with whatever credit card company you are making the purchase with. It doesn’t guarantee that you will always be safe in your purchase, but having a credit card company on your side can really help if things get contentious.

Step 4: Check the Condition of the Bills Upon Receipt From the Dealer

After you have taken receipt of the currency you will want to check some very specific things to make sure that all of your currency is authentic.

Make sure you check the condition of the bills themselves. Some dealers will pass you worn or heavily circulated bills, if this happens make sure you ask them for an exchange, when it comes time to trade in your bills you want no question on the authenticity or value of the bills you are trading in. A maimed or mangled note could cost you a lot of money if it is rejected as being unacceptable. The condition of the notes you receive is essential. To understand why, consider the following:

The Central Bank of Iraq states that "The CBI may confiscate without compensation any banknotes that have been written on, painted on, overprinted, stamped or perforated, or to which adhesive matter has been applied."

Step 5: Make Sure You Know The Anti-Counterfeiting Security Measures

The New banknotes, printed by De La Rue, have some of the most up-to-date anti-counterfeit features, including watermarks, a security thread, raised letters, an optical variable ink (glows under ultra violet light), including metallic ink and other variations to thwart off counterfeiters. Most counterfeit New Iraqi Dinars have some of the counterfeit measures in place like the inlaid gold and watermark, but have failed miserbly in duplicating the raised lettering, or the ink that will show when held under a black light. See the graphic of the security measures for the 25,000 Dinar note below.

Explanation of Anti-Counterfeiting Measures In Detail

1. Horse head watermark

This is one of the most simple security checks you can make. Hold the Iraqi Dinar up to a bright light source. The image of a horse head should clearly appear. This pattern is embedded, not printed, into the paper.

2. Color changing symbol

In the bottom left hand corner, the eight sided symbol should change color from purple to green when viewed at different angles.

3. Ultraviolet writing

To check for the ultraviolet writing on the Iraqi Dinar, you will need a UV lamp (as commonly found in hardware stores). In a dimly lit area, hold the UV lamp over the Iraqi dinar. You should clearly see a UV box with writing inside on the back side of the dinar.

4. Metallic ink (25,000 dinar note only)

The image of a dove is printed in metallic ink on the top left hand corner of the back of the dinar.

5. Security thread (25,000 dinar note only)

There should be a metallic security thread embedded into the stock of the Iraqi dinar paper.

6. Unique serial number

Every dinar is uniquely numbered in East-Arabic script. See the conversion below to western numerals. Notice the similarities between the 2 and 3 numerals.

Numeral conversion:

A word of warning, in my first Dinar package I freaked out because all the script seemed different. In talking with the broker he explained that I was looking at the serial numbers. Believe me, you want all the serial numbers to be different. If you have bunch of bills with the same serial number, you need to call the dealer who sold it to you right away for a refund and an explanation. But make sure that you understand what you are reading, the 2s and 3s in the above conversion chart look very similar…

To Review, Watch out for…

1.) Dinars that have no metallic ink. 

2.) Currency that have no variable ink, or will not glow.

3.) Lack of security thread.

4.) Abscense of raised lettering

5.) Lack of the horsehead watermark.

Step 6: Check out the Currency Under the Black Light

Make sure you purchase an ultraviolet light to test for the ultraviolet security features in the middle of the notes shown in the picture below.

Step 7: The Magic Currency Marker

You should also consider purchasing a special pen to detect fake bills, it is easy to scan and print the images of the bills, it is almost impossible for counterfeiters to duplicate the paper. You might have seen similar markers at your bank or at Las Vegas casinos. You just touch the bill with the marker and if it comes up yellow, the bill is genuine. If the mark turns brown than the bill is suspect. You don’t have to worry about the yellow mark, it will fade away leaving the bill looking as good as new. Make sure when you buy the currency marker that you confirm it will work with De-La-Rue printed currency for New Iraqi Dinar. I have heard people complain about perfectly legitimate bills because they used the wrong kind of detection pen.

Step 8: Optional -- Hire a Specialist

If you are planning on accumulating a large sum of these bills you might want to search google.com or find someone who is an expert in anti-counterfeiting. It may be expensive up front, but it would sure give you some piece of mind. I used a currency dealer to look my bills over, as much to learn from him, as check the authenticity of the bills. I think he was worth every penny.

Step 9: Choose Your Denomination

There are many different denominations of New Iraqi Dinar you can purchase. The only one I currently own is the 25,000 bill. I buy these notes because they are the cheapest to accumulate. You can buy forty 25,000 New Iraqi Dinar bills for $800-$1,200 which will give you a cool million New Iraqi Dinar. Most brokers will charge you more for the same 1,000,000 New Iraqi Dinar in smaller denominations. I also buy the 25,000 New Iraqi Dinar because I understand the anti-counterfeit security measures the best with this denomination. If you decide to buy other denominations make sure you get from the broker the security measures you need to know about before you order.

Back to Top

###