ISIS has talked off and on about the idea of issuing its own currency, and new photographs emerging on social media suggest that they may soon begin to be in circulation, though details on exactly what they are minting remains scant.
The images show a 1 dinar gold coin with wheat on it and another gold coin with a 5 on it and a picture of the world. The images look similar to designs ISIS issued last year, when it first announced it was going to try to get its own currency in circulation.
Historically, a gold dinar was 4.25 grams, and a silver dirham was 3.5-4 grams, though the sizes have varied over the years. Though many Islamic countries continue to use the name “dinar” for their currency, they are no longer gold backed.
ISIS, however, has the luxury of gold bullion looted from the bank of Mosul as well as a eagerness to establish itself as a formal Caliphate, which would argue in favor of them using hard currency in the style of previous Caliphates. As a new, unrecognized country, this may also make commerce easier for people within ISIS territory, as the currency will at the very least be worth its gold or silver quantity.
Though ISIS hasn’t formally made any announcement on the timing of the releases, social media reports are that the new coins will be in circulation by the Eid, i.e. the end of Ramadan, which means they could start showing up in ISIS territory in the next few weeks.