If you own an Iraqi dinar coin, selling it won’t be easy
If you are among the thousands of people who have bought Iraqi dinar currency in hopes of making a big profit, you may now be wondering what options exist for liquidating your dinar holdings.
The dream of investing in Iraqi dinars has been around for almost a decade. The dream is promoted by a host of websites that sell Iraqi currency, that is, actual physical packages of currency, to “investors” via mail order. The sales pitch of the websites is as follows: “Before the 1990 Gulf War, 1 million dinars was worth $ 3,200,000 USD; today you can buy 1 million dinars for only $ 1,150.00 USD.” As Iraq’s economy improves, the dinar is likely to appreciate. If the revaluation is close to the prewar exchange rate, today’s small cash outlay could return millions for those smart enough to enter now. Iraq’s vast oil resources, well-educated population, and guaranteed reconstruction aid from the United States make buying Iraqi dinars almost a safe bet. “
This reasoning has proved convincing to thousands of people who have taken the plunge and bought Iraqi currency.
But people who buy Iraqi dinars are not buying a liquid investment that is actively traded; rather they are buying a numismatic “collectible” that has very high transaction costs. For example, today you can expect to pay around $ 1,150 USD per 1,000,000 Iraqi Dinars (IQD) in currency from online dealers. The same 1,000,000 IQD has an official exchange rate value of just $ 854 USD, a sharp 30% increase. Traders justify this margin by pointing to the high costs of transportation and custody of foreign currency packages.
Similarly, if you own an Iraqi currency and have decided to convert your dinar back to US dollars, your options are limited and expensive. The One Dinar website makes the following noteworthy disclosure on its question and answer page in fine print: Until markets for reselling Iraqi dinars develop, it may be difficult for you to liquidate your Iraqi dinars or exchange them for US dollars.
One option is to sell the coin to a Dinar dealer. Usually online Dinar dealers who advertise 1,000,000 IQD for sale for $ 1,110 are willing to pay $ 800 to buy back the same 1,000,000 IQD. In other words, when you take the Dinar out of the lot, it is instantly worth 32% less in the eyes of the dealer who just sold it to you! Selling Dinar to a dealer is the option that has the highest transaction cost but the least amount of hassle.
A second option is to sell your shares on eBay. With eBay, transaction costs must be 10% or less (meaning you could pocket $ 1,000 if your IQD of 1,000,000 can reach $ 1,100). (This EBay fee calculator It will give you a good idea of your transaction costs.) For the newcomer, however, eBay can be intimidating and carry a substantial learning curve. You should also be aware that eBay has a very active community of Iraqi dinar dealers with whom it will compete directly.
A third option is to sell your dinar holdings on Craigslist. Craigslist is free, easy to use, and very effective for selling items. However, the audience is primarily local, and the number of IQD listings is relatively small, even in the largest Craigslist communities.
Tea Dream About Iraqi Dinar It may one day become a reality for investors who want to buy and hold dinars for the long term. But people looking to liquidate their dinar holdings today are likely to suffer a significant loss on their “investment.”