For Daisuke Taniguchi, the Iraqi dinar is like a lottery ticket. At least that's the way he advertises his sales of the currency.

"We sell a 25,000 dinar bill, which was worth ¥4.09 million at the currency's peak before the Gulf War (in 1990), for ¥7,400, and if the exchange rate recovers to the prewar level, the bill will be worth ¥4.08 million," blares an ad run by Taniguchi's exchange company, Rise International Inc.

After the currency gamble grabbed the attention of magazines, Rise International saw its sales rise to ¥40 million in April, compared with ¥500,000 last July when Taniguchi opened its Web site.