With international currency exchange rates between the US dollar and the Iraqi dinar being what they are, many people are attempting to make a quick profit by buying low while hoping that they will be able to sell high relatively soon. Iraqi Dinar investments have become one of the most popular exotic currency investments lately, with many currency dealers promising that investors can make millions of dollars almost overnight, by hoping that the international currency exchange rates will cause the dinar to appreciate considerably. Whether or not buying Iraqi dinar amounts to a scam or not is up for debate, but the one thing you can do to protect yourself is to stay informed.

Iraqi dinars have just recently become available in the United States and several other countries, and many professional investors are convinced that the international currency exchange rates between the US dollar and the Iraqi dinar will appreciate in a reasonable amount of time. But there are many that also think this process will take far too long to see any substantial investment.

Old dinars issued between 1990 and 2003 featured an image of Saddam Hussein on the front of the banknote, and those produced prior to the Gulf War were often referred to as Swiss dinar because of the Swiss printing technology that was used to print them. But those who have been investing in Iraqi currency have primarily been doing so since 2003, when the new dinar was introduced. The investment is based mainly on the hope that the Iraqi central bank will soon revalue the currency, deleting three zeroes from the value, and (investors hope) changing the international currency exchange rates to make the dinar worth thousands of times its current value.

The current Iraqi dinar is only worth one tenth of a US cent. The situation can look even more dire when one considers how much an Iraqi fils (a subdivision of the currency) is worth. One dinar is worth 1000 fulus (the proper plural of fils in Arabic), making an Iraqi fils worth about as much as the dust accumulating on your shelves.

While the revaluation of the Iraqi dinar may eventually happen, with international currency exchange rates adjusting accordingly, its going to be a long and slow process. Any investor should first be aware that an investment in Iraqi dinar can most charitably be described as “long-term.” Revaluation by the central bank of Iraq is not expected to happen any time soon, and political destabilization in the area could keep the currency down for even longer. So any investor that is hoping to capitalize on these international currency exchange rates should plan accordingly, realizing that there is a distinct possibility of significant depreciation as well.