But people psychologically default to the existence of a certain currency, even though economists think it is completely false. In 1993, for example, Saddam Hussein began issuing his own currency, Saddam Dinar. Iraqi citizens were told they could exchange the old $25 face value dinar notes. But Iraqis have no faith in the dictator, and Saddam Dinar is being frantically printed and published. Iraqis then continued to use the old currency as a medium of exchange, believing that it was a relatively stable means of saving. The old dinar continued to appreciate until the exchange rate with Saddam was 1:300. But in 2003 the United States launched the war in Iraq, announcing the introduction of a new Iraqi dinar and a new exchange rate, which in one fell in half in value.