of better quality than real notes. Some notes were very poorly cut, and some notes even lacked serial numbers. Despite the collapse in the value of the Iraqi dinar, the highest denomination printed until 2002 was ID 250. In 2002, the Central Bank of Iraq issued an ID 10,000 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 ID 250 note for everyday use. The other, smaller notes were so worthless that they largely fell into disuse. This situation meant that Iraq, for the most part, had only one denomination of currency in wide circulation. Currency printed before the Gulf War was often called the Swiss dinar, a term of obscure and uncertain origins. These notes were manufactured in England by De La Rue and were of significantly higher quality than those later produced under the economic sanctions that were imposed after the first Gulf War. After a change-over period, this currency was unendorsed by the Iraqi government. However, this old currency still circulated in the Kurdish regions of Iraq until it was replaced with the new dinar after the second Gulf War. During this time the Swiss dinar retained its value, whilst the new currency consistently lost value at sometimes 30% per annum. In 2003, new banknotes were issued consisting of six denominations: ID 50, ID 250, ID 1,000, ID 5,000, ID 10,000, and ID 25,000. The notes were similar in design to notes issued by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) in the 1970s and 1980s. An ID 500 note was issued a year later, in October 2004. In the Kurdish regions of Iraq, the ID 50 note is not in circulation. In March 2014, the CBI began replacing banknotes with anti-counterfeiting enhanced versions that include SPARK optical security features, scanner readable guarantee threads in addition to braille embossing to assist vision-impaired persons. In February 2015, the CBI announced the removal from circulation on 30 April 2015 of the ID 50 notes. Persons holding these banknotes were advised to immediately redeem them at their nearest bank for the ID 250 and higher denomination dinar notes at a one-to-one rate at no charge. In November 2015, the CBI announced the introduction of a new ID 50,000 banknote. This is the first new denomination banknote since the new