Antartican dollar

Gentoo penguin
Banknotes from Antartica??Yes i was asking the same question too when i first heard about them.Strange but true and many if not most do not even know that there are Antartican banknotes and worst of all some dont even know where Antartica is.Ok back to the notes,the currency is called the Antartican Dollar and surprisingly a place with hardly a working economy nor with a GDP growth its worth 1USD for every Antartican Dollar.


The dollar was proposed by a company from the United States,the Antarctica Overseas Exchange Office and is worth 1 USD,it is not legal tender and can only be used if both sides agree.Although not legal the Antarctica Overseas Exchange Office will honour its face value in a period of time and after that it will not redeem the notes.

What are they use for??,since they are not legal tender but worth 1 USD for every Antartican Dollar.Well these notes are collectors items created by the Antarctica Overseas Exchange Office and these notes are sold to anyone interested in them.These notes have been shippied to many countries where people have ordered them. Through the sale of these notes a huge portion the revenue was awarded to groups seeking funding for projects in Antarctica.Money have been donated to the Students on Ice Program to send high school students to Antarctica via Argentina and they will probably continue to make grants to this program and fund fund organizations seeking to undertake research and humanitarian projects in the Antarctic region.Get your notes today.Please visit this site http://www.bankofantarctica.com/. Donate to a good cause and buy some of these notes.This is a noble cause and should be supported by anyone who has the means and the money to do so.

Emperor Penguin

I shall show you the notes and perhaps its beauty can interest you,these notes in my opinion are one of the most beautiful banknotes existing in the world especially the 1 and 2 dollar note .Printed by the British American Banknote Company there are banknotes, polymer notes and their specimens printed by the Company.

A little about these amazing,beautiful,extraordinary,breathtaking notes.

There were three series the 1996,1999/2001 and 2007 series..The 2 dollars here is a 1999/2001 series.The 2007 series consists of polymer notes.The 50 and 100 of 1999/2001 series design is same as 1996 series.All the note measure 8cm x 16cm.So what are you waiting for go get yours now,limited numbers printed only. http://www.bankofantarctica.com/order.php

1996 series

Penguins on Peterman Island, Antartica
Adelie Penguins jumping into icy ocean

Penguins on rocks

Anniversary of tragic Air New Zealand crash with no survivors, flag of Antarctica as adopted by A.O.E.O. Ltd
Crabeater seal on floe
Albatross with killer whales

Captain Robert F. Scott
Map of Antarctica
Roald E. Amundsen, first man to reach the South Pole and flag of Norway
Amundsen reached south pole,14-Dec-1911
McMurdo Station Antartic Treaty System
Ozone hole detection
weather satellite

1999/2001 series

Great Auk

2001 series
Penguin March, Flag

Emperor Penguins(Can you see Happy Feet??) James Clark Ross profile, Antarctic map of Ross DependencyNew Zealand Flag, with New Zealand and territories of New Zealand Dronning Maud Land Norwegian Antarctic Exploration

The banknotes of Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti
(صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي)
28 April 1937-30 December 2006

Saddam was born in the town of Al-Awja ,13 km from the town of Tikrit to a family of shepherd from the al-Begat tribe. His mother, Subha Tulfah al-Mussallat, named her newborn son Saddam, which in Arabic means "One who confronts”.Saddam never knew his father and his brother died of cancer shortly afterwards.He lived with his uncle Khairallah Talfah until he was 3.His mother remarried and Saddam was teated harshly by his stepfather and he fled to live with his uncle(Also future father in law).Saddam dropped out of secondary school in 1957 to join revolutionary pan-Arab Ba'ath Party which his uncle supported.In 1958 army officer led by General Abdul Karim Qassim overthrew King Faisal II of Iraq. The Ba'athists opposed the new government and Army officers with ties to the Ba'ath Party overthrew Qassim in a coup in 1963.Prior to his imprisonment until 1968,Saddam Saddam held the position of Ba'ath party secretary. Saddam played a key role in the 1968 coup that brought the party to long-term power and became vice president under the ailing General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and through a few events rose to power and became 5th President of Iraq.Saddam had also improved a few aspects in his country.He was involved in the Iran-Iraq war and the first Persian Gulf War(Kuwait) and finally deposed in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq by the USA and its allies.Many Kurds and Iraqis died under his rule.

There two types of banknotes in Iraq,the Saddam dinars and the Swiss dinar,Swiss dinar will be in the next post. Iraq's currency was printed both locally and in China, using poor grade wood pulp paper (rather than cotton or linen) and inferior quality litography (some notes were reputedly printed on presses designed for printing newspapers).

Counterfeited banknotes often appeared to be of better quality than real notes. Despite the collapse in the value of the Iraqi dinar, the highest denomination printed until 2002 was 250 dinars.

In 2002, the Central Bank of Iraq issued a 10,000-dinars banknote to be used for "larger, and inter-bank transactions". This note was rarely accepted in practice due to fears of looting and counterfeiting. This forced people to carry around stacks of 250-dinars notes for everyday use.
Here are the banknotes

(I have hundreds of these banknotes for sale,except first 2 notes)
(1991)

(1990-1993)


























(2001-2002)

















Captured by US forces on December 13, 2003, Saddam was brought to trial under the Iraqi interim gvernment set up by US led forces. On November 5,2006, he was convicted of charges related to the executions of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites suspected of planning an assassination attempt against him, and was sentenced to death by hanging. Saddam was executed on December 30,2006

This letter was released by Saddam’s lawyers not long before his execution
To the great nation, to the people of our country, and humanity,
Many of you have known the writer of this letter to be faithful, honest, caring for others, wise, of sound judgment, just, decisive, careful with the wealth of the people and the state ... and that his heart is big enough to embrace all without discrimination.You have known your brother and leader very well and he never bowed to the despots and, in accordance with the wishes of those who loved him, remained a sword and a banner.This is how you want your brother, son or leader to be ... and those who will lead you (in the future) should have the same qualifications.Here, I offer my soul to God as a sacrifice, and if He wants, He will send it to heaven with the martyrs, or, He will postpone that ... so let us be patient and depend on Him against the unjust nations.Remember that God has enabled you to become an example of love, forgiveness and brotherly coexistence ... I call on you not to hate because hate does not leave a space for a person to be fair and it makes you blind and closes all doors of thinking and keeps away one from balanced thinking and making the right choice.I also call on you not to hate the peoples of the other countries that attacked us and differentiate between the decision-makers and peoples. Anyone who repents - whether in Iraq or abroad - you must forgive him.You should know that among the aggressors, there are people who support your struggle against the invaders, and some of them volunteered for the legal defence of prisoners, including Saddam Hussein ... some of these people wept profusely when they said goodbye to me.Dear faithful people, I say goodbye to you, but I will be with the merciful God who helps those who take refuge in him and who will never disappoint any faithful, honest believer ... God is Great ... God is great ... Long live our nation ... Long live our great struggling people ... Long live Iraq, long live Iraq ... Long live Palestine ... Long live jihad and the mujahedeen (the insurgency).Saddam Hussein President and Commander in Chief of the Iraqi Mujahed Armed Forces
Additional clarification note:I have written this letter because the lawyers told me that the so-called criminal court — established and named by the invaders — will allow the so-called defendants the chance for a last word. But that court and its chief judge did not give us the chance to say a word, and issued its verdict without explanation and read out the sentence — dictated by the invaders — without presenting the evidence. I wanted the people to know this. (Letter by Saddam Hussein)
Saddam was buried at his birthplace of Al-Awja in Tikrit, Iraq, 3 km (2 mi) from his sons Uday and Qusay Hussein, on December 31, 2006

"A great leader who never gave up till the end"

New Banknotes of Saudi Arabia

On May 20,2007,Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency(SAMA), regarding article (4) of the Saudi Currency Law, issued under the Royal Decree No. (6) and dated 1/7/1379H announced the fifth series of the Saudi Riyal.But before we go to the banknotes let us know more about the man on the note.

King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud

Custodian of the two holy Mosques and Prime Minister and Prime Minister
(خادم الحرمين الشريفين الملك عبد الله بن عبد العزيز آل سعود)

King Abdullah succeeded to the throne on 1-August-2005 following the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. As Crown Prince, he had previously acted as De facto regent and thus ruler of Saudi Arabia since January 1 1996 due to the incapacitation of Fahd by a major stroke. He was formally enthroned on August 3,2005, but he inherited the title of King immediately after the death of his half-brother

Here are some interesting facts on the King
Prime Minister
Commander of the Saudi National Guard
Chairman of the Supreme Economic Council
President of the High Council for Petroleum and Minerals
President of the King Abdulaziz Centre for National Dialogue
Chairman of the Council of Civil Service and Head of the Military Service Council
A king with many positions
Estimated wealth-$30+ billion
Has over 30 wives during his lifetime,and has at least 15 sons and 20 daughters,I wonder how does he think of names to give them and how does he remember all of them and give equal love to all his children?

The king has been active in issues such as terrorism and is combating the threat.He is also a philanthropist,one of his generous actions include donating $50 million in cash and $10 million worth of relief materials for the Sichuan Earthquake in 2008 in China and $10 Billion to the endowment fund of The King Abdullah University of Science & Technology in May 2008.However he has been criticized for religious prosecution,the treatment of women and homosexuals in the Kingdom and alleged bribes involving arms deals with UK.

Now here are the old and new banknotes for your viewing pleasure

The old issue-1984-2007(King Fahd)4th seriesNew issue(5th series)

A truly rich king with a lot of money,a lot of wives,a lot of children and a lot of oil