I had a friend that was over in iraq a few years ago, and was actually there when they took over bagdad the first time. when he got back he had a huge bag full of these 250 dinars bills... he said people where burning them in the streets and figured they may have some value so grabbed a few! however much later i was given another bill by a friend at my church who was given a 250 dinar bill maybe 5 years prior to our conflict in iraq, and this dinar looked different then the one i had gotten from my friend who went to iraq... i am curious if this one my soldier friend gave me is a forgery (on the Top) or is it real? Reasons for thinking it may be fake: 1. it is bigger then the bottom one (which i know is real) 2. it isn't necessarily printed as good a quality but that is debatable 3. it doesn't have a watermark or security strip which are both present in the real one. What are your expert opinions?
The larger note looks like a 1994-1995 issue (P-85 below). The smaller one looks like a 2001-2002 issue (P-88). The 1994-1995 250 Dinars note was larger than the 2001-2002 issue. I don't think the 1994-1995 issue had a security strip or watermark. The Gulf War caused all kinds of printing issues and there were many variations of the same note. So, there's a good chance that both are real.
There are some "last ditch" printings of those notes that are very crude. I have a good handful of them. They almost feel like they were made on a lazer jet printer... Ha!
so how would i validate its authenticity? i took it to a coin shop and the guy wasn't sure he thought it might be fake!
