Iraq was a kingdom in northern Arabia between Syria, Jordan and Persia, formerly known as Mesopotamia, a province of the Ottoman Empire. After the First World War Iraq was mandated to Great Britain and gained independence under a British mandate, in 1921 when Emir Faisal son of Husein Ibn-Ali of Hejaz, Grand Shriff of Mecca was elected King Faisal I of Iraq in a decisive plebiscite.
He was succeeded by his son, Ghazi Ibn Faisal, on September 9, 1937. King Ghazi I became a motor enthusiast while attending school at Harrow, England. He loved to speed and one of his favorite pastimes was to drive recklessly through the streets of Baghdad at night. On the ride that caused his death, he lost control of his car and crashed into an electric-light pole, fracturing his skull.
Ghazi was 27 years old when he died. He had married his cousin Princess Aliyah of Hejaz a week after his Coronation in 1933. His son King Faisal II was born on May 2, 1935 and succeeded to the throne of Iraq after his father was killed in an automobile accident April 4, 1939. Until he became 18 the boy King will rule through a Regency headed by his uncle, emir Abdul Ilah.
He was assassinated in a bloody liquidation of the King, the Crown Prince and almost the whole Royal during a military revolution. Iraq was under British protection under terms of a twenty-year treaty signed in 1948. With the murder of the King a Republic was established July 14, 1958.
In my collection, there is one dime size silver coin from Iraq. It is dated AH1375 (1955), 20 fils, 19 mm, 2.8 grams with mintage of 4,000,000, struck in London at the Royal Mint. The designer was Thomas Hugh Peget.
Obverse:
Head of Faisal II, facing right, Arabic inscription (MALIK AL-IRAQ=KING OF IRAQ) left, Arabic inscription (FAYSAL ATH-THANI=FAISAL THE SECOND) right.
Reverse:
Value in Arabic (20) / Arabic denomination (FILS) in circle, Arabic inscription (AL-MANLAKAT AL IRAQTYA=THE KINGDOM OF IRAQ) Above, dates In Arabic (AD1955 – AH1375).
First published in the March 2003 Fort Lauderdale Coin Club Newsletter, article by Roger deWardt Lane
