ISIS Calls For The Return Of The Gold Standard Even though the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), simply known as the Islamic State (IS) today, may not be a United Nations member state, it's certainly is trying to function as one.

Even though the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), simply known as the Islamic State (IS) today, may not be a United Nations member state, it's certainly is trying to function as one. One important aspect of a state? Currency. Of course, the Islamic State are not opting for the global monetary system of using fiat money, claiming that it is blasphemous and doomed to failure. They've brought back the golden dinar, as well as the silver dirham and copper fils. The news was announced during a one-hour video via Al-Hayat Media Center, the Islamic State's media arm.

They claim that a single gold dinar coin (which is 21-carat and weighs over four grams) would be worth US$139. Now, before your neighborhood Ron Paul supporter or self-proclaimed Austrian economist gets too excited, the IS hasn't implemented the currency just yet. It still pays its gunmen and trades in American dollars, while local business in its controlled territories trade in their respective currencies. Finally, IS continues to collect taxes in local currencies as well.

Overall, it sounds like another propaganda campaign about life in the so-called IS. While it's frightening that they raise capital on their own without relying on donations like Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations, it isn't for certain that they will implement a universal currency of this nature in their territories, especially as they're all contested grounds at this point