THE IRAQI NUMISMATIC SOCIETY

The Iraqi numismatic society is secret society represented by the artist Sherko Abbas who works, in his office, to reproduce the faces of Iraq coins that have disappeared from circulation. His role shifts from that archaeologist to counterfeiter as he uses the rubbing technic (like tracing an image) to make national symbols appear on paper such as the palm tree, the code of Hammurabi, the Mousl Dam, or the map of Iraq. the motif is then reproduced on photocopied sheets that are made available to museum visitor while the coins that are now blank from rubbing are exhibited in a case. the artist thus manages to exhibit micro-history threatened with disappearance to a larger audience.