bigjarofwasps

A number of people have begun touting so-called "investment" opportunities in the Iraq Dinar as a "sure way" to make a lot of money with little or no risk. Many of our clients have asked our opinion on the legitimacy of this. Is "investing" in the Iraq Dinar a sure way to profit? We don't think so. In our opinion, buying the Iraq Dinar is a high risk investment with a poor outlook. A Little History The official rate of the old Iraq Dinar, $3.22 USD (U.S. Dollars), was set in 1982 by Saddam Hussein. The old Iraq Dinar could not be freely traded, so this rate was never tested or upheld on the world market. The current Iraq Dinar (IQD) was introduced between October 2003 and January 2004 by the Coalition Provisional Authority in close consultation with financial experts from Iraq and the international community. The IQD is currently valued at a little less than seven hundredths of a US cent. (1 USD = 1460 IQD). The old "Saddam" Dinar has no current value and is worth only what a collector is willing to pay for it. What's Happening Now? The IQD is not freely traded, and is not being used in any significant international transactions. We are unaware of any official bank or foreign exchange office outside of the middle east that will exchange the IQD. The IQD trades on a very small, tightly controlled exchange. The total volume of IQD traded by the Central Bank of Iraq is in the thousands of dollars, compared to the $1,900 billion dollars traded on the Foreign exchange market every day. This small number of trades makes the IQD's value effectively immaterial. The Central Bank of Iraq's stated objective is not to promote the free trade of IQD, as is the case in a true free market economy, but rather to keep the value of the IQD stable. The only way the Bank can ensure the semblance of stability is by tightly controlling the exchange of IQD on the market, and by ensuring that the currency cannot freely trade on the open market. They evidently fear that open trading of the IQD would lead to a rout in which the value of the IQD would sink to practically nothing. Consider the situation. Why tightly control the trading of the IQD if it is likely to appreciate in value? If the value of the IQD were to surge, this could be held out as evidence of a surge of confidence in Iraq's economy. So why not open the IQD to free trading? Why would this be done unless the Iraqi Central Bank itself feels that the IQD would decline in value in a free market? A Snapshot of Iraq Today The current situation in Iraq is pretty grim: Over a decade of international economic sanctions and a devastating war has left the infrastructure in tatters $125 billion of external debt Millions of dollars in post-war debt No stable government Insurgency steadily on the rise Oil facilities and pipelines are sabotaged regularly Many (including the former Prime Minister of Iraq) predict out-and-out civil war These aren't the kind of conditions typically conducive to the creation of booming economies. More to the point -- a 450,000% increase in the value of the IQD (as predicted by some of its promoters) seems ridiculous in the face of these challenges. But Surely There's Oil Under Those Dunes? A lot of the hype over the IQD centers around Iraq's vast oil reserves and their supposed economic value. The oil market is extremely unpredictable. An economy based on oil alone (oil makes up 95% of Iraq's foreign exchange earnings), will mirror that unpredictability. Let's look at a real-world example: Venezuela. Oil accounts for 80% of Venezuela's national exports and 50% of its government revenues. The country is one of the world's top five oil producers. In the last four years, Venezuela has experienced intense political instability, including an oil strike and an attempted coup d'?tat. The resulting economic chaos has led to the extreme devaluation of the Venezuelan Bolivar -- today, it is worth only about a third of its US Dollar value from January 2000, and only about a quarter of its Euro value from January 2000. Investing in a country's currency is tantamount to investing in that country's economy as a whole, not in any single commodity. Investing in the Iraq Dinar is not the same as investing in Iraq's oil. But What About Kuwait? Promoters of the IQD like to compare Iraq now to post-Gulf War Kuwait -- but this is comparing apples to oranges. Before the Gulf War, Kuwait had a stable government and its foreign investments generated more income for its economy than its oil did. After the war, despite losing a third of its pre-war investment portfolio (over $100 billion USD), Kuwait still had a solvent economy, a stable government, and an intact infrastructure. Of course its currency increased. In comparison, Iraq entered the war with a $125 billion USD debt, has almost no infrastructure, no stable government, and no other foreign income except its oil -- the vulnerability and unpredictability of which we have already pointed out. The outlook for its economy and the IQD is grim for the foreseeable future. In late 2004, the US was successful in convincing some foreign creditors to "forgive" some of Iraq's debt. However, debt forgiveness is seldom a blessing, and generally comes at a very heavy price. Other countries whose foreign debts have been "forgiven" have found it nearly impossible to generate any foreign investment afterwards. Think about it: how would you feel about investing in Iraq again if you lost your entire investment (i.e. you "forgave" it) last time? If it Sounds Too Good to be True... Ask yourself one question: if the Iraq Dinar is such a hot commodity, why would anyone in the know be willing to sell it to you? If you thought that the IQD was going to multiply in worth by hundreds of thousands of percent, would you sell it? Of course not -- you'd be too busy buying as much of it as you could. But if you thought that the IQD was going to go down in value over time, well, then you might start trying to convince people that it was a "great deal" so that you could get rid of all of yours before it nose dives. Remember the old saying: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be careful!

HSBC closes in on Iraqi bank deal Basic banking services are available in Iraq HSBC is close to buying a majority stake in Iraqi bank Dar Es Salaam Investment bank, according to one of the global bank's senior executives. HSBC is in talks to buy a 70% stake in the Iraqi lender, which has 14 branches across Iraq and employs 450 staff. HSBC was one of three foreign banks given permission last year to start trading in Iraq. But high levels of violence have so far hindered the development of the country's banking system. Basic services HSBC hopes to buy the company from its main shareholder, the Khudairy family. David Hodgkinson, chief executive of HSBC's Middle East operation, said the bank was "very close" to concluding an agreement. The banking system in Iraq is still in its fairly early stages of development David Hodgkinson, HSBC He said HSBC hoped to develop the bank's services by investing in computerised payment systems and cash machines. "I think because the banking system in Iraq is still in its fairly early stages of development, it will be a question of putting in place fundamental services," he told Reuters. Foreign banks were banned from Iraq under Saddam Hussein although a number of private banks were licensed to operate. After Saddam Hussein was overthrown, HSBC, Standard Chartered and National Bank of Kuwait were licensed to operate in Iraq. Any deal would have to be approved by the Central Bank of Iraq as well as the board of Dar Es Salaam. With operations in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman and Qatar and the Palestine Authority, HSBC claims to be the largest international banking group operating in the Middle East.

The camera never lies? http://rense.com/general37/libb.htm

Could the `B` in fact stand for Belsen? Just a thought.

This is on Ebay....... Do you want the opportunity to get rid of that millstone around your neck, called the MORTGAGE. or do you want to spend the next twenty year,s paying for it. Between October 25th 2003 and January 15th 2004 the coalition provisional Authority issued the new Iraqi dinar printed by De La Rue using modern anti-forgery techniques to "create a single unified currency that is used throughout all of Iraq. The new banknotes consisted of six denominations, 50, 250, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 25,000. The notes were similar in design to notes issued by the CBI in the 1970s and 1980s. A 500 dinar note was issued a year later, in October 2004. The Central Bank of Iraq decided on what the new currency would look like. The De La Rue based in England was the company chosen to print the new Dinar.This company printed the Dinar used by Iraq prior to the Saddam Dinar and actually still had some of the old printing plates which were updated for the new money. De La Rue used 5 factories around the world to print the new Dinar- in England, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Malta and Germany. The Spanish Government generously donated resources too- printing the 250 Dinar notes at its print works in Spain. DO NOT LET THIS SLIP BY The new currency was unveiled during a press conference in October the 4th 2003.The original order of 2 BILLION notes filled more than twenty-five 747 aeroplane. The new Iraq Dinar is now the official currency of the people of Iraq. Baghdad-in Drawers and footlockers, servicemembers in Iraq are banking on the future by hoarding millions of Iraq Dinars. Many suspect the dinars precipitous drop in the past decade could mean a Huge rebound ahead. Each dinar was once worth a few Dollars. LEST WE FORGET In 1991, the Kuwaiti dinars value fell from over $3.00 to near worthlessness. It rapidly shot back after liberation. Anyone who aquired Kuwait dinars at the low point, was soon able to cash in for many hundreds of times the purchase price. It all happened so fast, most of the world never had a chance at getting any. Circumstances are different, and its not happening that quickly in Iraq. But there is another difference, too. THIS TIME, YOU KNOW ABOUT IT. When people fear for there future, they invest in gold, jewelry and coins. When people feel confident about the future, they buy real estate. Property prices have skyrocked across Iraq. If you pass on this...,for the rest of your life you,d wish you NEVER KNEW ABOUT IT. Iraq,s currency- the Dinar= the next powerful investment. Iraq has been granted 32 billion dollars in dept relief. Opening international Trade has increased the wages to Iraqis 25 million people who have pent up demand for goods and services. An estimated $33 billion has already been collected for rebuilding Iraq. Coca-cola, Chevron, Texaco, and more are investing, wages are triple those paid elsewhere in the Middle East- Wall Street Journal. More Iraqis are holding onto there dinar as a savings vehicle after years of hoarding dollars. No one doubts Iraqis potential for enormous production, Only 17 of its 80 known oil fields have been developed, and the costs of new production are among the worlds lowest. Iraq has vast areas of fertile land and the most precious commodity of all in the Middle East,WATER. With the rejuvenation of the Tigris and Euphrates River, Iraqs agriculture sector may once again be the Breadbasket of the Middle East. There are NOT Many sure things left in life BUT if you pass on this, YOU WILL REGRET IT ONE DAY Cameras and reporters do not lie, but they do not always give a full perspective. Political brinkmanship devoid of context breeds panic. Bombs and blood sell copy, but do not accurately reflect Iraq. Political milestones give a glimpse of the often-unreported determination that Iraqis and long-time visitors see daily. Bombings and body bags are tragic. But they do not reflect failure. Rather, they represent the sacrifice that both the Iraqis and coalition allies have made for security and democracy. The referendum,refugee return, real estate and investment show much more accurately--and objectively--Iraqis steady progress. US authorities estimate Iraqis have imported one million cars and trucks and more than 500,000 satellite dishes since fighting ended. Iraq is coming out of a 35 year oppression by a regime that practised the politics of terror and thuggery. Some time must pass before the countrys "mental health" bounces back. THIS IS THE TIME TO BUY. While as many as one in six Iraqis fled their nation under Saddam now hundreds of thousands have returned, real estate values are skyrocketing, major construction is up, the value of the dinar, Iraqs currency, is steady, investment is rising. All of these signs point to a growing confidence by Iraqis thay there nation has a future and that its wealth will grow and spread. Thats good news worth heralding. Iraq Development Program-Iraq deemed worlds greatest oil prospect. Iraq is the greatest oil prospect in the world, with huge undeveloped oil fields and enough reserves to meet the worlds needs for many years. Using modern equipment and technology. Iraqs oil production could exceed output from Saudi Arabia. Iraq has the worlds second largest proven oil reserves, with 113 billion barrels. However the true amount of reserves may be closer to 300 billion barrels because the countrys oil fields have not been thoroughly explored.The supplies, if developed could help meet the worlds increasing thirst for oil.Global oil consumption is projected to rise to 119 million barrels a day by 2025, up from about 80 million now, this is a tremendous opportunity for the entire world. Iraqs oil reserves are six times greater than the reserves of the Caspian Sea and four times greater than USA reserves, We need that Iraq oil. The world needs it. Iraq is now producing about 2 million barrels of oil a day. But that number could rise to 10 million if Western oil companies were allowed to develop the countrys vast reserves. The giant oil fields of Saudi Arabia produce between 9 and 10 million barrels of oil a day. There is no reason why Iraq can,t be in that category. Since Saudi Arabia is being pushed to its production limits by the demand from the US and now China and India, the next logical choice is Iraq. With the USA rebuilding Iraqs oil infrastructure it seems like a good possibility Iraq will be a wealthy country again in the not so distant future. You are buying qty 20x 5,000 note,s Only ?53.30 100,000 Dinar The possible increase in value of your 100,000 dinar Iraq Dinar ? UK ? 0.01 ? 1,000.00 ? 0.05 ? 5,000.00 ? 0.10 ? 10,000.00 ? 0.50 ? 50,000.00 ? 0.75 ? 75,000.00 ? 1.00 ? 100,000.00 If the dinar gets back to its 1990s value $3 ?1.70 ? 170,000.00 There are NOT many sure things left in life, BUT if you pass on this action, You will regret it one day.

The New Iraq Dinar, Iraq's official currency, is now at an historic low. The value of the new Iraqi Dinar, currently at around 1471 Dinar to the dollar, had fallen to between 3500 and 4000 against the dollar before the end of combat operations in July, 2003. The United States has pledged almost a trillion dollars, military and civilian support, debt relief and economic ties that will give Iraq the capability to develop its potential as a $70 billion economy, one of the largest in the region. Giving Iraq the opportunity to establish itself as a sovereign nation, economically and socially, will bring stability to the region, normalize oil prices as well as bringing peace and prosperity to the people of Iraq. . The New Iraq Dinar, Iraq's official currency, is now at an historic low. The value of the new Iraqi Dinar, currently at around 1471 Dinar to the dollar, had fallen to between 3500 and 4000 against the dollar before the end of combat operations in July, 2003. The United States has pledged almost a trillion dollars, military and civilian support, debt relief and economic ties that will give Iraq the capability to develop its potential as a $70 billion economy, one of the largest in the region. Giving Iraq the opportunity to establish itself as a sovereign nation, economically and socially, will bring stability to the region, normalize oil prices as well as bringing peace and prosperity to the people of Iraq. Iraq is in a unique position in history. A vibrant country with a highly educated population of just over 22 million people, Iraq possesses oil reserves of over $10 trillion at the current market value. Released from the repressive regime of Saddam Hussein, Iraq has the potential to become a $70 billion dollar a year economy, with one of the largest oil and gas reserves in the world, second only to Saudi Arabia. Major industrial nations from around the world are present in Iraq, either as military or civilian support, to assist Iraq in its desire to establish a safe, secure and economically sound country. Trillions of dollars have already been pledged for repair and restoration. Reconstruction of the infrastructure including power, water, road and highways, IT and phone systems, and health and human services, has already begun. Making all the right moves. Regional Agreements. Iraq is quickly establishing beneficial relationships in an effort to export its oil and gas reserves through already established pipelines in its neighboring countries. Monetary System. The monetary system established by the new government encourages foreign investment, a key to develop a strong economy. Central Bank. The Central Bank of Iraq is an independent agency, not affected by the political parties of the many factions in Iraq. Stock Market. A new stock market opened recently with record trading volumes pushing stock prices drastically upwards for the 27 firms listed, with over 2 billion shares changing hands in only 6 trading sessions. Bond Market. The Central Bank of Iraq offered its first treasury bonds on July 18th, with broad participation of the private commercial banks of Iraq. Real Estate Market. Real estate in Iraq is booming, largely because of the severely depressed prices due to the restrictive policies of the old regime. With money flowing into Iraq, citizens are now buying houses in neighborhoods generally reserved for government officials. Oil Production. With the new government firmly in place, the reconstruction of the infrastructure including rebuilding many of the major oil fields is steadily going forward. Iraq has signed tentative agreements with international oil companies to exploit its vast oil reserves. It is believed that within 1 to 2 years the oils fields will be producing sufficient oil to build a foundation for revenue and within 5 to 10 years Iraq will return to its place in the world economically, socially and politically.

https://www.investindinar.co.uk/shop/index.php

Heres an interesting link........ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_gold

Monday, March 15, 2004 British soldier caught smuggling gold out of Iraq LONDON: A British soldier serving in Iraq was caught trying to smuggle a solid gold bar found in a bank vault out of the country, officials and a report said on Sunday. The gold bar weighed 40 pounds and was worth around 250,000 pounds, according to the News of the World newspaper. It said that the unnamed soldier had been among a group of British soldiers who came across a horde of gold bars at a bank ransacked by looters in the southern Iraqi city of Basra shortly after the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein last year. One of the bars disappeared, and the soldier — described in the newspaper by a colleague as “not the brightest in the world” — attempted to smuggle it in a kitbag onto a flight to Cyprus when he went on leave in June last year. However bags were checked with scanners before they were allowed on the plane and the gold was discovered. “The matter was dealt with by the regimental sergeant major of the unit he was in,” a Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said on Sunday. “The alleged bar of gold is in safe custody and it is the property of the Iraqis and will be returned in due course.” —AFP

Has the fat bloke down the NAAFI, been telling tales again? Don`t fancy yours much?

Was surfing Ebay, to see if there was an Iranian gold coins up for auction. So I typed in Iran Gold, and found this......... 1. If Iranian women look like this when do we invade!!!!!!! 2. I think this might be a bit misleading however??????

Many thanks for that Kev. Good question as to whether this is in the right catogory. Think I`m right in saying that these were awarded by the German people, as apoosed to the 3rd Reich. So you might have a point there. I agree with you, about the type of people who`d fake these items. But that just about sums up the human race in general really doesn`t it. But I would be interested to hear from anyone who was either awrded one of these medals, or had a family memeber who was. I wonder did they wear them, or did they tell the Germans to `poke it?`

Came across this medal, thought it might be of interest to someone on the forum, or make an intersting topic of conversation. Auschwitz Cross Conferred to honour prisoners and the victims of Auschwitz and other nazi concentration camps established by the Germans in WW2, first of all to members of the camp Resistance. It could be awarded to other countries' citizens and could be awarded posthumously. A recipient's conduct while imprisoned must have been honorable. The Cross is a silver Greek cross with wide arms, 42 x 42 mm. Obverse shows barb wires and camp poles; the year 1939 on the left, 1945 - on the right arm. In the center there is a red enameled triangle with the letter P, as worn by Polish nationals imprisoned in the camps. The reverse bears THE PRL MARKING the inscription PRL / WIEZNIOM / HITLEROWSKICH / OBOZOW KONCENTRACYJNYCH ( PEOPLES Republic of Poland to prisoners of nazi concentration camps).

A few links.......... http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/index.php http://www.obleek.com/iraq/ http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/

Washington, June. 15, (BNA) US Ministry of Defense the "Pentagon" announced that the number of soldiers killed in Iraq reached 2500 since the beginning of the war on Iraq in 2003 with the killing of a marines today. The statement indicated that the soldier who was killed was a US marine highlighting that the number of those killed comprise 1972 soldier that died in battle.

Cheers H, thats very interesting thanks for adding. Where did you get the photos from? I`ve not seen them before. Thanks for sharing them with use. Heres a few more I`ve found from various sources, note the different tunic issues!!!

Helmut, wouldn`t describe a drawing as fake, more accurate to say in correct I think. But whilst we`re talking about the cuff titles, your quite right the BFK was in fact written in English.

CASE OF THE MONETARY GOLD REMOVED FROM ROME IN 1943 Judgment of 15 June 1954 The Monetary Gold Case was brought before the Court by an Application of the Italian Republic against the French Republic, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. The Court had been requested to determine certain legal questions upon which depended the delivery to Italy or to the United Kingdom of a quantity of monetary gold removed by the Germans from Rome in 1943, recovered in Germany and found to belong to Albania. The United Kingdom pointed out that the Court had found that Albania was under an obligation to pay compensation to the United Kingdom for the damage caused by the explosions in the Corfu Channel in 1946 and that the damages due to the United Kingdom had never been paid. For its part, Italy contended, in the first place, that she had a claim against Albania arising out of the measures of confiscation allegedly taken by the Albanian Government in 1945, and, in the second place, that her claim should have priority over that of the United Kingdom. The Italian Government, relying on the Statement signed at Washington on April 25th, 1951 by the Governments of France, the United Kingdom and the United States, referred these two questions to the Court. But after filing her Application, Italy felt some doubt as to the jurisdiction of the Court and requested the Court to adjudicate on the question of jurisdiction as a preliminary issue. It is upon the question of jurisdiction that the Court adjudicated in its Judgment. The Court found first, unanimously, that in the absence of the consent of Albania, it was not authorized to adjudicate upon Italy's claim against Albania and, secondly, by thirteen votes to one, that the priority issue could only arise if the first question had been decided in favour of Italy. Judge Levi Carneiro appended to the Judgment of the Court a statement of his dissenting opinion (on the second question); two other Members of the Court (President, Sir Arnold McNair, and Judge Read), while voting in favour of the decision, appended to the Judgment a declaration and individual opinion respectively. The Judgment began by reciting the facts. The origin of the present case was to be found in Part III of the Agreement on Reparation from Germany (Paris, January 14th, 1946) which provided that the monetary gold found in Germany should be pooled for distribution among the countries entitled to receive a share of it. France, the United Kingdom and the United States were signatories of the Agreement, as well as Albania and other States; Italy adhered subsequently to Part III. The implementation of the provisions of Part III having been entrusted to the Governments of France, the United Kingdom and the United States, these three Governments appointed a Tripartite Commission to assist them in this matter In respect of a quantity of gold removed from Rome in 1943, which belonged to the National Bank of Albania, the Tripartite Commission, confronted by competing claims of Albania and Italy, was unable to give a decision. The three Governments then agreed to submit the question to an arbitrator (Washington Agreement of April 25th, 1951). At the same time, they declared (Washington Statement of the same date) that if the finding of the arbitrator should be in favour of Albania, they would be confronted by another problem since the gold was claimed by Italy and by the United Kingdom for reasons not covered by Part III of the Paris Agreement; and they decided that the gold would be delivered to the United Kingdom in partial satisfaction of the Judgment of the court of December 15th, 1949, in the Corfu Channel case unless within a certain time-limit from the date of the arbitrator's Opinion, either Albania applied to the Court requesting it to adjudicate on her rights, or Italy made an Application to the Court for the determination of the questions, first, whether by reason of any rights which she claimed to possess as a result of the Albanian law of January 13th, 1945, or under the provisions of the Italian Peace Treaty, the gold should be delivered to her rather than to Albania, and second whether the Italian claim should or should not have priority over the claim of the United Kingdom, if this issue should arise. Thus, within the prescribed time-limit, Italy made an Application to the Court which was communicated in the customary manner to States entitled to appear before the Court and also transmitted to the Albanian Government. Time-limits for the filing of the pleadings were then fixed by the Court. However, instead of presenting its Memorial on the merits, the Italian Government questioned the jurisdiction of the Court to adjudicate upon the first question relating to the validity of the Italian claim against Albania. The Parties having been requested to submit their views on the problem thus raised, the Italian Government contended that the Court did not have a sufficient basis for adjudication on the ground that the proceedings contemplated by the Washington Statement were in reality directed against Albania and that Albania was not a Party to the suit. As regards the United Kingdom, it saw in the challenge to the Court's jurisdiction made by Italy a ground for questioning the validity of the Application which, in the submission of the United Kingdom, should be regarded as not conforming to the Washington Statement or as invalid and void, or as withdrawn. The two other respondent Governments France and the United States, did not deposit formal Submissions. After thus reciting the facts, the Court dealt with the views of both sides, beginning with the Submissions of the United Kingdom which have just been summarized. Indeed, it was unusual that an applicant State should challenge the jurisdiction of the Court, but regard must be had for the circumstances of the case: it was the Washington Statement, emanating from the three Governments, that formulated the offer of jurisdiction accepted by Italy and pre-determined the subject-matter of the suit, and it was after taking the initial step that Italy felt some doubt and filed a Preliminary Objection on the basis of Article 62 of the Rules of Court. This Article did not preclude the raising of a preliminary objection by an applicant in such circumstances. By this Objection, Italy's acceptance of jurisdiction of the Court has not become less complete or less positive than was contemplated in the Washington Statement. To request the Court to settle the problem of jurisdiction was not tantamount to asking the Court not to determine the questions set out in the Application under any circumstances. The Application was a real one; and it remained real unless it was withdrawn; but it had not been withdrawn. Finally, the Application, if not invalid when it was filed, could not have become invalid by reason of the presentation of the objection to the jurisdiction. Having thus found that it had been validly seised by the Application and that that Application still subsisted, the Court proceeded to consideration of the Italian Objection to the jurisdiction in order to decide whether or not it could adjudicate upon the merits of the questions submitted to it by the Application. The Court noted that, in respect of the relations between the three Governments and Italy, the Application was in conformity with the offer made in the Washington Statement, both as regards the subject-matter of the suit and the Parties to it; the Court therefore had jurisdiction to deal with the questions submitted in the Application. But was this jurisdiction co-extensive with the task entrusted to the Court? In this connection the Court noted that it was not merely called upon to say whether the gold should be delivered to Italy or to the United Kingdom: it was requested to determine first certain legal questions upon which the solution of the problem depended. The first submission in the Application centred around a claim by Italy against Albania, a claim to indemnification for an alleged wrong. Italy believed that she possessed a right against Albania for the redress of an international wrong which, according to Italy, Albania had committed against her. In order, therefore, to determine whether Italy was entitled to receive the gold, it was necessary to determine whether Albania had committed any international wrong against Italy, and whether she was under an obligation to pay compensation to her; and, if so, to determine also the amount of compensation. In order to decide such questions it was necessary to determine whether the Albanian law of January 13th, 1945 was contrary to international law. In the determination of these questions, which related to the lawful or unlawful character of certain actions of Albania vis-?-vis Italy, only two States, Italy and Albania, were directly interested. To go into the merits of such questions would be to decide a dispute between Italy and Albania - which the Court could not do without the consent of Albania. If the Court did so, it would run counter to a well-established principle of international law embodied in the Court's Statute, namely, that the Court can only exercise jurisdiction over a State with its consent. It has been contended that Albania might have intervened, since Article 62 of the Statute gives to a third State, which considers that it has an interest of a legal nature which may be affected by the decision in the case, the right to do so; that the Statute did not prevent proceedings from continuing, even when a third State which would be entitled to intervene refrained from doing so; and that consequently the fact that Albania had abstained from doing so should not make it impossible for the Court to give judgment. But in the present case, Albania's legal interests would not only be affected by a decision; they would constitute the very subject-matter of the decision. Therefore, the Statute could not be regarded, even by implication, as authorizing that proceedings could be continued in the absence of Albania. The Court found that, although Italy and the three respondent States had conferred jurisdiction upon the Court, it could not exercise this jurisdiction to adjudicate on the first claim submitted by Italy. As for the second claim, which relates to the priority between the claims of Italy and the United Kingdom, it would only arise when it had been decided that, as between Italy and Albania, the gold should go to Italy. This claim was consequently dependent upon the first claim in the Application. The Court accordingly found that inasmuch as it could not adjudicate on the first Italian claim, it should refrain from examining the second.

No worries Kev in Deva!!!

Have spoken with the Royal Mint. They conformed that they DIDN`T mint any Sovereigns, during WW2. There is no doubt that various elements of the Allied Armied Forces, were issued with sovereigns, however, they certainly weren`t these ones!!!! On cross examination Coins of the Realm, buckled and said that, they had no proof that the sovereigns they had had taken part in any operations during WW2. So this proves to me that there alleged certificates aren`t worth the paper there printed on, and this is one big scam, to get money out of the unwarey!!!!!!!!! I also contacted Sotherby who basically confirmed what I already new, the and also added that they were grossly over priced and companys like COTR, are just out to make a fast buck. Note to everyone avoid Coins of the Realm like the plague there a rip off!!!!!!!! Interestingly no one I`ve spoken to about them, has ever heard of them!!!!! They have anice glossy catalogue, but thats were it all ends. I could bring other mis quotes, etc to your attention contained within the catalogue, but I think I`ve more than proved my point thus far!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monetary gold (F.11) 5.26 . Definition: The sub-category monetary gold (F.11) consists of all transactions in monetary gold (AF.11) that is gold held as a component of foreign reserves by monetary authorities or by others who are subject to the effective control of the authorities. 5.27 . The monetary authorities sector, which is based on a functional concept, consists of the sub-sector the central bank (S.121) and central government institutions, which carry out operations usually attributed to the central bank. Such operations include the issue of currency, maintenance and management of international reserves and the operation of exchange stabilisation funds. Therefore, gold can normally be a financial asset only for the central bank or central government. However, in some circumstances, other financial corporations may hold title to gold that can only be sold with the specific consent of the monetary authorities. In such restricted circumstances, the concept of effective control can be applied to the gold holdings of financial corporations other than the central bank. 5.28 . Monetary gold normally takes the form of bars with a purity of at least 995/1000. 5.29 . Transactions in monetary gold consist predominantly of sales and purchases of monetary gold among monetary authorities. Purchases of monetary gold are recorded in the financial accounts of the domestic monetary authorities as increases in financial assets. The counterpart entries are decreases in financial assets of the rest of the world. 5.30 . Transactions in non-monetary gold, that is in gold other than monetary gold, are treated as acquisitions less disposals of valuables (if the sole purpose is to provide a store of wealth) and otherwise as final or intermediate consumption and/or change in inventories. Transactions in non-monetary gold include transactions by the monetary authorities in gold that is not a component of their foreign reserves. 5.31 . If monetary authorities add non-monetary gold to their holdings of monetary gold or release monetary gold from their holdings for non-monetary purposes, they are deemed to have monetised or demonetised gold, respectively. Monetisation or demonetisation of gold does not give rise to entries in the financial accounts; instead, the change in balance sheet positions is accounted for by entries in the other changes in the volume of assets account as a reclassification, i.e. the reclassification of gold as valuables (AN.13) to monetary gold (AF.11) (see paragraph 6.32.). Demonetisation of gold is recorded symmetrically. 5.32 . Deposits, securities and loans denominated in gold are treated as financial assets other than monetary gold and are classified along with similar financial assets in foreign currency in the appropriate category. Non-monetary gold swaps, that is arrangements involving the temporary exchange of non-monetary gold for deposits, are treated as collateralized loans (see paragraph 5.81. e).

Monetary and Non-Monetary Gold The U.S. Army and the Discovery, Accountability, and Security of German Monetary Gold When the American armies entered Germany in the spring of 1945, they discovered large amounts of gold hidden by the Germans, particularly at the Merkers salt mines, where the Reichsbank had shipped about 400 million Reichsmarks in gold in an effort to hide it from the Allies closing in on Berlin. The gold had been looted from central banks in German-occupied countries, individual civilians and victims of Nazi persecution. By that summer much of it was stored in the Reichsbank building in Frankfurt in the custody of the Foreign Exchange Depository (FED), a section of the Office of Military Government United States (OMGUS) of the American occupation force in Germany. Between 1945 and 1948 the FED collected, guarded, inventoried, and distributed to various countries nearly $300 million in gold bullion and gold coins ($2.9 billion today). The FED worked with Allied governments, occupation authorities, and the Tripartite Gold Commission in inventorying this collection (consistent with official definitions of monetary and non-monetary gold) and making distributions as agreed. Discovery and Disposition of Non-Monetary Gold From the Victims of Nazi Persecution Within months after the occupation of Germany by Allied troops, U.S. military authorities learned that the German Reichsbank had incorporated gold looted from the occupied nations of Europe into its gold reserve, as well as some gold (including jewelry, watches and even smelted dental gold) that the Nazi SS stripped from Jews and other persecutees. An elaborate Reichsbank program of converting the gold and valuables of camp victims into official German accounts was known to American authorities after the war. The Reichsbank established the "Melmer" account, named for SS-Hauptsturmfuehrer Bruno Melmer, into which the SS deposited looted gold and other assets confiscated from Holocaust victims and other civilians. Whatever might be the total amount of victim gold in the German gold reserve, the scale of the SS plundering of camp victims was made clear by the amount of SS gold and other valuables uncovered by the U.S. Army at the Merkers mine in 1945. Some of the victim gold in the Reichsbank gold reserves came from persecutees killed in concentration camps or elsewhere, while some was taken by the Nazis from other civilians. There is clear evidence that gold looted by the Nazis from individuals and camp victims was systematically received, classified, sold, pawned, deposited, or converted and smelted by the Reichsbank into gold ingots and sent to the Reichsbank monetary gold reserve along with gold looted elsewhere in Europe. The smelted SS gold was indistinguishable in appearance from gold bullion stolen from central banks across Nazi-occupied Europe. Some of this victim gold has been traced as part of German wartime gold sales to Switzerland and Italy. An analysis of one Prussian Mint smelting of looted Dutch guilders in 1943 notes that 37,000 fine grams of gold from the SS loot were added to that particular smelting. Of the bars that resulted from this smelting, 83 percent were traded to the Swiss National Bank, the rest to Italy. Thus, it is clear that the bullion traded to Switzerland and other neutral countries included some of this victim gold. At the same time, there is no evidence that the Swiss or other neutrals knowingly accepted victim gold. According to captured German records, packages of jewelry identified in documents as coming from Jewish victims were sent by diplomatic pouch to the German Legation in Bern for pickup by German agents, who then traded the jewelry for industrial diamonds and currency critical to the German war effort. It is also clear that victim gold entered the postwar Gold Pool organized by the Tripartite Gold Commission. Caches of smelted victim gold, including gold teeth, jewelry and Jewish religious items--along with gold coins taken from individuals--were recovered at the Merkers mine and elsewhere in Germany. This study provides no evidence that American officials ever assayed (analyzed chemically) the gold bars to be added to the Pool, despite a 1946 dispatch from U.S. diplomat Livingston Merchant raising the issue. Instead, they allowed appearance rather than origin to define gold as monetary when in fact some of it was derived from gold valuables taken from concentration camp victims and other civilians. In deciding to include gold coins and bars without mint markings, there is no doubt that the U.S. Government consciously contributed gold and coins at Merkers belonging to concentration camp victims and other civilians to the TGC Gold Pool. The amount of victim gold misdirected into the Gold Pool and subsequently distributed by the TGC to claimant countries has not been quantified. Nor can it be established from our study how much victim gold was seized by the Nazis, how much entered the German gold reserve and was used in wartime transactions, or later fell into Allied hands. It was likely that a relatively small proportion of the total gold looted from central banks and recovered by the Allies after the War was victim gold, but that scarcely lessens the sense of a final grim indignity added to the toll of Nazi barbarity. Paradoxically and poignantly, the hasty measures taken by the U.S. and its Allies to distinguish between monetary gold supposedly taken from central banks, and non-monetary gold supposedly taken from individuals, were motivated in part by a decision by the Paris Reparations Conference in January 1946 to ensure that non-monetary gold would be used to provide immediate assistance to Jews and other stateless refugees.

Monetary gold Definition Gold held by governmental authorities as a financial asset. NON- MONETARY GOLD Definition: Non-monetary gold covers exports and imports of all gold not held as reserve assets (monetary gold) by the authorities. Non-monetary gold is treated as any other commodity and, when feasible, is subdivided into gold held as a store of value and other (industrial) gold.

Cheers Peter. The more I read about this subject the more enthralled I become!!!!!!!!!!!!

"THE DEUTSCHE BANK AND ITS TRANSACTIONS DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR" which was prepared by Jonathan Steinberg. This book has a copyright date of 1999 and was published by Verlag C H Beck. From the rear cover "Gold--the Nazis robbed from central banks in occupied countries and from the victims of concentration camps--played a crucial role in financing the import of strategic materials for the Nazi war effort. Most of the Reichsbank gold sales went to foreign central banks, but some gold sales were made to German commercial banks including the Deutsche Bank. This is a report on the gold transactions of the Deutsche Bank. It tells where the gold came from and where it went.