The Rial: a Persian numismatic guide

Imperial Bank of Persia — One Toman (1906)

Muzaffar al-Din Shah era

1906

Iran's first true paper currency: the British-chartered Imperial Bank issued notes from 1890 with each branch (Tehran, Tabriz, Isfahan, Bushehr, Yazd, Mashhad, Resht, Shiraz, Kermanshah) issuing non-fungible notes payable only at its own counter.

Imperial Bank One Toman — Yazd branch overprint

Naser al-Din / late Qajar

c. 1890–1923

A surviving example illustrating the branch-bound nature of early Iranian paper money.

Imperial Bank of Persia 5 Toman Banknote

Ahmad Shah Qajar era

c. 1924

Imperial Bank notes were issued payable at specific branches (Tehran, Tabriz, Isfahan, Yazd, Mashhad, Shiraz, Bushehr) — a note payable at one branch could not be cashed at another without exchange. The branch-restriction made counterfeiting harder but limited use. Image: related Imperial Bank Yazd-payable Tuman.

Pahlavi 20 Rial Commemorative

Mohammad Reza Shah

SH 1357 / 1978

Late-Pahlavi commemorative — part of the broader commemorative-coin output that includes the FAO 'Money Coin' series.

Bank Melli 100 Rial (Reza Shah)

Reza Shah

SH 1317 / 1938

First series of Bank Melli notes featuring the new shah.

Bank Markazi 1000 Rial (Mohammad Reza Shah)

Mohammad Reza Shah

1969–1971

Workhorse high-denomination note from the late 1960s oil-boom era, issued by the newly-founded Central Bank of Iran (Bank Markazi).

Reza Shah 500 Rial Banknote

Reza Shah Pahlavi

SH 1317 / 1938

High denomination of the first Bank Melli series under Reza Shah — equivalent to a substantial sum in the 1930s.

Reza Shah 1000 Rial Banknote (first series)

Reza Shah Pahlavi

SH 1317 / 1938

Highest denomination of the Reza Shah series; rare in collectible grade.

Mohammad Reza Shah 500 Rial Banknote (1976)

Mohammad Reza Shah

SH 2535 / 1976

From the late-Pahlavi 'imperial calendar' (Shahanshahi) series — controversially replaced the Islamic calendar in 1976.

Mohammad Reza Shah 5000 Rial Banknote (1977)

Mohammad Reza Shah

1977

Mid-high denomination of the final Bank Markazi Pahlavi series before the 1979 revolution.

Mohammad Reza Shah 10,000 Rial Banknote (1978)

Mohammad Reza Shah

1978

Highest denomination of the final Pahlavi series — printed on the eve of the 1979 revolution; many were later overprinted with arabesques to cover the Shah's portrait.

Pahlavi 50th Anniversary 100 Rial Banknote

Mohammad Reza Shah

SH 2535 / 1976

Special commemorative note for the half-centennial of the dynasty founded by Reza Shah in 1925.

Reza Shah Silver 5 Rial (1938)

Reza Shah Pahlavi

SH 1317 / 1938

Reza Shah's portrait silver — the first Iranian circulating coin since pre-Islamic Sasanian times to depict a living ruler's face. Issued in 1, 2 and 5 rial denominations from 1932 to 1942.

Mohammad Reza Shah 1 Rial Coin

Mohammad Reza Shah

SH 1338–1357 (1959–1979)

Workhorse small-change coin of the late Pahlavi era — minted in hundreds of millions and still found in circulation drawers across Iran today.

Mohammad Reza Shah 2 Rial Coin

Mohammad Reza Shah

SH 1338–1357 (1959–1979)

Mid-range minor denomination of the modernised Pahlavi coinage struck by Bank Markazi from the late 1950s onward.

Mohammad Reza Shah 5 Rial Coin

Mohammad Reza Shah

SH 1338–1357 (1959–1979)

Highest-denomination cupronickel circulation coin of the era — the largest pocket coin most Iranians handled before the 1979 revolution.

Mohammad Reza Shah 10,000 Rial (1971)

Mohammad Reza Shah

1971

The highest denomination of the early-1970s oil-boom series, issued in the year of the spectacular 2,500-year monarchy celebrations at Persepolis.

Mohammad Reza Shah 50 Rial Banknote

Mohammad Reza Shah

1970s

Mid-low denomination of the Bank Markazi series — the everyday note for taxi fares and market purchases throughout the 1970s.

50 Rial '2,500-Year Empire' Commemorative Banknote

Mohammad Reza Shah

SH 1350 / 1971

Issued for the October 1971 Persepolis ceremonies marking 2,500 years since Cyrus the Great founded the Persian Empire — one of the most lavish state events of the 20th century.

Mohammad Reza Shah 1000 Rial — Second Series

Mohammad Reza Shah

Mid-1970s

Workhorse high-denomination note of the oil-boom decade — printed by De La Rue (London) and Thomas De La Rue's Tehran-licensed press.

Republic-era 20 Rial Coin

1980s

Representative of early-Republic circulation coinage.

Overprinted Pahlavi 5000 Rial — Khomeini Arabesque

Transitional issue, Islamic Republic

1979–1981

Following the 1979 revolution, existing stocks of high-denomination Pahlavi notes were over-printed to remove the Shah's image while replacement notes were designed.

Islamic Republic 100 Rial — Khomeini Series

1985 onwards

The 100 rial note became the workhorse low denomination of the post-revolutionary era; later supplanted by the coin.

Islamic Republic 2000 Rial (1982)

1981–1982

Second IR series, with revolutionary imagery replacing royal portraits.

Islamic Republic 5000 Rial (1981)

1981

Second-series IR high denomination; replaced the over-printed Pahlavi notes.

Islamic Republic 10000 Rial (1981)

1981

Highest denomination of the second IR series, issued before the 1992 Khomeini-portrait redesign.

Islamic Republic 10,000 Rial — Khomeini / Damavand

1992 – present

Workhorse banknote of the modern era, reissued repeatedly with security upgrades.

Islamic Republic 100 Rial Banknote

1985 (SH 1364)

Early Republican-era note before the universal switch to the Khomeini portrait in 1992; Mudarres was chosen as a Shia-clerical symbol of constitutionalist opposition.

Islamic Republic 50,000 Rial = 5,000 Toman Note (Redenomination Series)

2021 – present

Phase-one of the planned 1:10,000 redenomination — banknotes carry both 'rial' (legal) and 'toman' (popular) values during transition. Full redenomination implementation was repeatedly delayed.