Baghdad Dollar Bill Rug - Saddam Era

[BSRmilitaria]

Hey guys, I recently was offered this piece of a dollar bill rug that was supposedly used during the Sadam era in parades - similar to the Iranian Helmets that were marched on. A GI brought this home from Bagdad and I cant find any information on it - has anyone head of it before?

 

[BSRmilitaria]

a

[BSRmilitaria]

b

[BSRmilitaria]

c

[Patchcollector]

This is one of those items that is cool if it's real but if not may be someones attempt to cash in(pun intended )and resell some dollar bills threaded together for a tidy profit,kind of like the Ho Chi Minh sandals offered during the Vietnam war and the "battle" artifacts made by the Seabees and others during WW2.

[CNY Militaria]

I can only add that when my former platoon sergeant was in Iraq (very early in the war) he also obtained a piece of this rug. He didnt show it to me but this is exactly how he described it.

[firefighter]

I can only add that when my former platoon sergeant was in Iraq (very early in the war) he also obtained a piece of this rug. He didnt show it to me but this is exactly how he described it.

Justin, You should ask him what the serial number on his is.

[BSRmilitaria]

I can only add that when my former platoon sergeant was in Iraq (very early in the war) he also obtained a piece of this rug. He didnt show it to me but this is exactly how he described it.

 

Wow its been a long search and finally some connection with the rug! If you ever find any information on it, please let me know. I cant find anything.

 

Also Patchcollector, I initially thought it may be - but if you look closer, the serial numbers of the bills are all the same, and the backing is in fact a thick cloth. I know Iraqis were always clever selling stuff back to GI's but the quality if the piece is pretty high.

[Patchcollector]

After a closer look I can't see any stitching.How are the bills affixed to the backing?Are they glued,or ironed on?Are they photocopies?Any dates on the bills?

[BSRmilitaria]

After a closer look I can't see any stitching.How are the bills affixed to the backing?Are they glued,or ironed on?Are they photocopies?Any dates on the bills?

 

Unfortunately I do not have the rug pieces in hand to confirm - although I will speak with the Vet and see what he can tell me.

 

Thanks again!

[ScottG]

I know this rug quite well. What you have is not a rug, but a piece of carpet. It comes from the parade ground. Specifically, under the stands and behind the Presidential box. There you will find "The Museum of Present's to the President". This is a fairly large series of rooms that contained art, poetry, ceramics, statues and even all of the plastic flowers that you would see young girls presenting Saddam at official appearances and in propaganda photos. The entire floor was covered in this carpet (and what was left of the museum when I got there). I found a really cool Saddam head that was molded aluminum while going through there. I gave it to one of my soldiers as a souvenir. So, I hope this helps and looking at this brings back many memories! I wish I would have taken a piece myself, but at the time (early 2003) I had other things to do and was a bit overwhelmed by the destruction of all of the art. We had to be really careful there as the area was not secure and the rooms were knee deep with stuff including a lot of broken glass and jagged metal. Scott

[BSRmilitaria]

I know this rug quite well. What you have is not a rug, but a piece of carpet. It comes from the parade ground. Specifically, under the stands and behind the Presidential box. There you will find "The Museum of Present's to the President". This is a fairly large series of rooms that contained art, poetry, ceramics, statues and even all of the plastic flowers that you would see young girls presenting Saddam at official appearances and in propaganda photos. The entire floor was covered in this carpet (and what was left of the museum when I got there). I found a really cool Saddam head that was molded aluminum while going through there. I gave it to one of my soldiers as a souvenir. So, I hope this helps and looking at this brings back many memories! I wish I would have taken a piece myself, but at the time (early 2003) I had other things to do and was a bit overwhelmed by the destruction of all of the art. We had to be really careful there as the area was not secure and the rooms were knee deep with stuff including a lot of broken glass and jagged metal. Scott

 

Thank you Scott for the information. It is really great to find some connection with this piece of carpet and hear your story! I wonder how many pieces are out there?

Thank you again!

[dave peifer]

I have a piece that I acquired in a vets group who was there in 2003 and related the same as scottg above,it's 2 bills wide and 3 feet long...................dave

[BSRmilitaria]

I have a piece that I acquired in a vets group who was there in 2003 and related the same as scottg above,it's 2 bills wide and 3 feet long...................dave

 

Great to know! I would love to see it if ever possible.

 

Thanks for the information.

[trenchfoot]

I definitely would buy it! That would be a very rare and interesting piece in any gulf war collection.

[mrwarbooty]

Very interesting piece. Never heard of it before, but I'd buy it as well. For whatever it's worth, I think it's totally legit.

[ScottG]

 

Thank you Scott for the information. It is really great to find some connection with this piece of carpet and hear your story! I wonder how many pieces are out there?

Thank you again!

 

If it was all cut into pieces like this then could be thousands. I seem to recall someone else telling me that there was carpet like this in another building as well. Maybe one of the palaces, I can't remember. Scott

[ScottG]

Very interesting piece. Never heard of it before, but I'd buy it as well. For whatever it's worth, I think it's totally legit.

 

As I said above, it is carpet and it is from Iraq, and was used under the regime of Saddam Hussein. So in that context, yes, its legit. Scott

 

[Herbf]

Guy, would anyone mind if I stole some of this? I have written on the propaganda currency of the war and have the U.S. 6 banknotes made in Turkey, the four made in Saudi Arabia and the six made by the CIA. We made a lot of fake Iraqi currency during the war. I would love to mention that Saddam returned the favor with this carpet.

[BSRmilitaria]

Wow great information to have! Luckily I was able to secure the piece of carpet, as well as other period bringbacks.

 

I would like to add it is really great to see some information on this carpet and hope more can be uncovered! Thank you all for the participation.

 

William

[Major Z]

Cool! Three tours over there and this is a first for me. Thanks for sharing it.

[Colonel SB]

Hi, I hope you don’t mind a Brit jumping on your thread. I was a Royal Marine who served a couple of times in the coalition Headquarters in Baghdad, first in 2003 and then again in 2009. The photo below is a single “bank note” from the rug which was given to me buy an Iraqi Security Guard (perhaps the same man?) at the Parade Ground. The bill seems to glued onto a fabric back. There is a bill number that is visible that is B80063438P. I can’t see any dates on the bill. Hope that helps? 

[Intennesee]

I'm a little late on this, just found this forum while researching the rug in discussion, and decided to create an account. I also have a section of this rug being described. I assume there were a few of these large rugs brought home from various homes/palaces of Sadam. I can personally attest that it looks legit, bases on the pics I've seen. I was there in 2004. I believe it was sometime in February or March, when a couple folks from our maintenance crew returned to camp coming straight from the cross sabre palace with a large section of the rug rolled up and divvied it out. I cut a large section off, brought it home, cut individual bill pieces from the rug to give to family as souvenirs. I of course kept a section for myself as well. I've enjoyed reading through these posts, good info.