Bradbury Wilkinson produced this note for the National Bank of Iraq at their New Malden works, part of the same contract series that equipped the young Iraqi monetary system with engraved currency of a quality it could not yet produce domestically. The National Bank itself had only been established in 1947, replacing the earlier Iraq Currency Board arrangement under which London effectively administered Iraqi note issuance.
The 1953 series marked a transitional moment — the monarchy under Faisal II was still intact, the oil revenues were beginning to reshape state finances, and demand for higher-denomination notes was growing. P#35 is the 5 Dinar value within that series, printed intaglio with a single watermark as the primary security device, consistent with Bradbury Wilkinson's output for smaller sovereign clients of the period.
Bradbury Wilkinson produced this note for the National Bank of Iraq at their New Malden works, part of the same contract series that equipped the young Iraqi monetary system with engraved currency of a quality it could not yet produce domestically. The National Bank itself had only been established in 1947, replacing the earlier Iraq Currency Board arrangement under which London effectively administered Iraqi note issuance.
The 1953 series marked a transitional moment — the monarchy under Faisal II was still intact, the oil revenues were beginning to reshape state finances, and demand for higher-denomination notes was growing. P#35 is the 5 Dinar value within that series, printed intaglio with a single watermark as the primary security device, consistent with Bradbury Wilkinson's output for smaller sovereign clients of the period.