Afghanistan Unseriailzed

50 x 1 Afghani notes (FF 001-050)

50 :40 sec. videos

View/ purchase on Open Sea

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I was attracted to this 2002 afghan currency specifically because it was unserialized. While the currency had already been unstable in years prior, the American occupation immediately following the 911 attack on the World Trade Center in New York caused even more problems as several governments vies for power. Slightly different versions of the same currency were printed, sometimes using the same or overlapping serial numbers.

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These afghan notes do carry small handwritten marks in the margins — numbers added by hand, likely for counting, pricing, or exchange. These kinds of marks are common in places where currency moves quickly through informal systems: markets, money changers and checkpoints.  So I used a plain, black gel pen to add my own, using my signature "Fiatfire" in a sequential series, FF-001 through FF-050.

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​Throughout the 2000s and into the 2010 series, Afghan banknotes were produced abroad by foreign security printers, primarily in the United Kingdom and Germany. Firms such as De La Rue and Bundesdruckerei handled different production runs under international contracts tied to reconstruction and monetary stabilization efforts. When a nation’s currency is printed across multiple countries, by different printers, under political urgency, inconsistencies emerge.

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The package I received from an online dealer contained two sets of 50 uncirculated notes in a plain paper band. My handwriting didn't seem right on the first few. So I also had the freedom to improvise. I tried to fashion it a little bit like the numbers already there. I started spraying them with accelerants the way I usually, but about half through I realized that these bills didn't need them. They were essentially made to burn. 

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