On May 21st, 1972, Bilus Poles was born in Kirkuk, Iraq to a humble Assyrian family. As a child he developed an interest in history and in the arts; those interests are what inspired him to be a passionate coin collector.

As he grew up, he spent much of his leisure time researching and learning about coins and currency of other cultures and nations.

In 2001, he moved to the United States and in 2007 he graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry. For many years he put aside his passion for his career and achieved many awards in his dental profession.

Dr. Poles has always played an active role in his Assyrian community and in 2014 his passion was sparked again when he decided to make a childhood dream a reality. From all his collection, one coin has always been missing: an Assyrian one.

So he set out to create a coin that would take Assyrian ancient history and link it with today’s modern display of Assyrian culture. His work of art is a two-sided canvas that displays a time-less symbol of the Assyrian nation, and tells a story that is over 6000 years old.