ISIS has reportedly set up its own currency for use of its "Caliphate" and has printed up the first coins, putting images of them up online.
Sources currently living under the rule of the terrorist organization say that the currency will soon be in circulation, according to The Telegraph.
The currency has seven coins, known as "dinars," all allegedly printed from copper, silver and gold. Abu Ibrahim Raqqaqqwi, an anti-ISIS activist, shared photos of the one and five dinar coins on Twitter, The Independent reported.
#Raqqa the new coins that #ISIS say it will deal with it soon #Syria #IS #ISIL pic.twitter.com/7IdBNQuaOE
— Abu Ibrahim Raqqawi (@raqqa_mcr) June 22, 2015
The five dinar has a map of the world with ISIS' Islamic State in the center, and the one dinar piece shows stalks of wheat to illustrate that they provide for the people living in their territory. People living in Islamic State-controlled Mosul have been complaining about food shortages and rising prices regularly since the terrorist group arrived last year, according to the Daily Mail.
Experts are not impressed with the new currency, stating that this is all just a very expensive propaganda tool. Despite establishing an exchange rate with one gold dinar being worth $139, the three silver dinars ranging from $1 to $9 and the copper coins being worth a few cents each, experts have identified three major problems:
- No country would recognize the group's coinage.
- It's unclear how much each coin weighs, thus their actual value can't be appraised.
- Iraq and Syria lack any real gold, silver or copper mines, which makes mass production highly difficult.
#ISIS's so-called currency exchange rate: 1 Gold Dinar is $139. 1 Silver #Dinar is $1. #Propaganda. pic.twitter.com/J4z7oQa1Fh — Terrormonitor.org (@Terror_Monitor) June 23, 2015
Counter extremism researcher Charlie Winter explained that showing some progress in establishing a state is important, as the one-year anniversary of ISIS declaring itself a Caliphate approaches.
