Islamic State To Issue First Entirely Gold and Silver Currency

CidanSultan · November 12, 2014

Islamic State wants to introduce its own currency: Plans to bring back solid gold and silver dinar coins announced in Iraqi mosques

By Emma Glanfield

Islamic State said to be planning to introduce its own currency to areas it controlsMilitants allegedly want to bring back the dinar - an ancient Islamic currencyThe original dinar currency consisted of purely gold and silver round coins

Islamic State wants to introduce its own currency and plans to bring back solid gold and silver dinar coins, it has emerged.

The Middle East terror group apparently wants to introduce its own Islamic currency as part of its attempts to solidify its makeshift caliphate.

Militants are said to want to bring back the original dinar, which is an ancient currency from early Islam, and religious figures in Mosul and Iraq’s Nineveh province have apparently announced its return in mosques.

Islamic State apparently wants to introduce its own currency and plans to bring back gold and silver dinar coins (above)

The currency known as the dinar, which once consisted purely of gold and silver coins, is today used by a variety of countries, but the coins are created from different materials to the originals.

However, the jihadi group is understood to be planning to return to the original gold and silver coins, which were first introduced during the Caliphate of Uthman in 634 CE.

The original Islamic dinar was a gold coin which was the weight of gold equivalent to 4.3 grams. Its silver counterpart, known as the Islamic dirham, was a silver coin equal in weight to 3 grams of silver.

Both were round in shape and one side of the coin was typically stamped with an Islamic message, while the other side featured the date of minting and the country’s ruler.

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The terror group, led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (pictured addressing Muslim worshippers at a mosque in the militant-held northern Iraqi city of Mosul), is apparently keen to introduce its own currency to areas it controls

IS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi on rewards of Jihad (Archive)

PURE GOLD AND SILVER: THE DINAR

The original dinar coins were first introduced during the Caliphate of Uthman in 634 CE.

The coins were made purely from gold and silver and were round in shape.

The gold coin was known as the Islamic dinar, while the silver was known as the Islamic dirham.

Typically, one side of the coin was stamped with an Islamic message, while the other side featured the date of minting and the country’s ruler.

While ISIS has yet to confirm the introduction of its currency, social media is awash with claims that leading religious figures announced the plans during recent prayers in Mosul and Nineveh province.

It is believed the terror outfit wants to use the independent currency in areas it controls as part of its war on the West.

The currency, which could be introduced within the next few weeks, will involve changing from regular dinars and Lira to golden dinars and silver dirhams.

Last month, it emerged that ISIS, which also goes by the name Islamic State, is raking in money at a remarkable rate - earning about $1million a day from black market oil sales alone.

The group extracts oil from territory captured across Syria and Iraq, and sells it to smugglers.

David Cohen, who leads the Treasury Department's effort to undermine the Islamic State's finances, said the extremists also get several million dollars a month from wealthy donors, extortion rackets and other criminal activities, such as robbing banks.

In addition, he said the group has taken in at least $20million in ransom payments this year from kidnappings.

Mr Cohen said ISIS, which is led by Iraqi Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,obtains the vast majority of its revenues through local criminal and terrorist activities.