(AP) Amid toppled statues and paint-splattered murals, one image of Saddam Hussein endures in postwar Iraq: the stoic portrait of the former president in a suit and tie that graces pastel-colored bank notes. But the so-called Saddam dinar, which has lost half its value with the collapse of the Iraqi government, could soon go the way of the Confederate dollar.
Part of the U.S. reconstruction push is introducing a new Iraqi currency that officials hope will hold its value and undoubtedly be expunged of the mustachioed former dictator. Establishing a stable currency is seen as key to rekindling Iraq's tattered economy and rebuilding a national identity. But many hurdles remain, including the lack of an Iraqi government and a general mistrust of anything other than U.S. greenbacks.
The dinar was officially pegged at a rate of just over 3 to the dollar. But it traded at around 2,500 to the dollar on the black market before the war and has plummeted to 3,500 with the ousting of Saddam. Merchants who have opened shops are already jacking up prices to compensate for the currency's hollowed-out value.
These things are showing up on eBay already - I bought a 10,000 Dinar note to go with my old 10,000 Zloty note...for 30 bucks. |