Reza Shah reformed currency in 1932: the rial replaced the qiran (1 toman = 10 rial). Bank Melli took over note issuance in 1932. Pahlavi era includes commemoratives for the 2500-year celebrations and FAO series.
Pahlavi coins are the machine-struck coinage of Iran under Reza Shah and Mohammad Reza Shah (1925–1979): silver and later cupronickel rials, plus the gold Pahlavi coin of 8.136 g that is still traded in Tehran as a bullion instrument.
| Period | 1925–1979 CE (SH 1304–1357) |
|---|---|
| Gold Pahlavi | 8.136 g, 0.900 fine (7.32 g fine gold) |
| Silver rials | 5 rials ~ 1.5 g fine early series |
| Dating | Solar Hijri (SH); add 621/622 for CE |
| Mint | Tehran |
The gold Pahlavi (سکه پهلوی) was introduced in 1932 at 8.136 g of 0.900 gold — 7.32 g of fine gold, the same standard as the British sovereign it was designed to compete with. Half and quarter pieces followed, and the type continued after 1979 as the Bahar-e Azadi with the same weight.
Because the standard never changed, the coin functions as a savings instrument in Iran: prices are quoted daily and full, half and quarter pieces trade close to melt plus a premium.
Reza Shah's reform of 1932 replaced the qiran with the rial at 100 dinars. Early rials are silver, with the Pahlavi crown and lion-and-sun; from the 1950s cupronickel takes over and the silver disappears from circulation.
Commemoratives are a substantial sub-series: the 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire in 1971 and the FAO issues are the most frequently collected.
Most Pahlavi coins use the Solar Hijri calendar: add 621 (or 622, depending on the month) to convert to CE, so SH 1350 is 1971 CE. Between 1976 and 1978 a short-lived imperial era was used, counting from the accession of Cyrus, which produces four-digit dates in the 2500s — those are Pahlavi coins, not ancient ones.
1932: rial established at 1 rial = 100 dinars; pahlavi gold coin (~8.13 g, .900) issued as bullion.
Bank Melli (founded 1928) issued banknotes from 1932 to 1961; Bank Markazi (central bank) took over from 1961.
Mohammad Reza Shah's 1971 Persepolis ceremonies were marked by spectacular commemorative gold and silver issues celebrating 2500 years of monarchy.
Reza Shah Pahlavi
ObverseBust left in military uniform.
ReverseLion-and-Sun with crown, value '1 Pahlavi'.
Successor bullion coin to the toman. Still traded today as Iran's gold investment standard.
Mohammad Reza Shah
ObverseBust right.
ReverseLion-and-Sun, value.
Minted in 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2½, 5 and 10 pahlavi denominations.
Mohammad Reza Shah
ObverseShah bust.
ReverseCyrus and Persepolis motifs.
Issued for Persepolis ceremonies celebrating 2500 years of Persian monarchy.
Mohammad Reza Shah
ObverseReza Shah and Mohammad Reza Shah motifs.
ReverseQuote about Bank Melli.
Late-Pahlavi commemorative — part of the broader commemorative-coin output that includes the FAO 'Money Coin' series.
Reza Shah
ObverseReza Shah portrait, denomination.
ReverseMount Damavand vignette.
First series of Bank Melli notes featuring the new shah.
Mohammad Reza Shah
ObverseShah portrait in military dress.
ReverseGolestan Palace / national landmark vignette.
Workhorse high-denomination note from the late 1960s oil-boom era, issued by the newly-founded Central Bank of Iran (Bank Markazi).
Reza Shah Pahlavi
ObverseReza Shah in military uniform; ornate guilloché frame.
ReverseAnahita temple / national landmark vignette.
High denomination of the first Bank Melli series under Reza Shah — equivalent to a substantial sum in the 1930s.
Reza Shah Pahlavi
ObverseReza Shah portrait; denomination in Persian and English.
ReversePersepolis bull capital.
Highest denomination of the Reza Shah series; rare in collectible grade.
Mohammad Reza Shah
ObverseShah in military dress with Pahlavi crown.
ReverseSarvestan palace ruins.
From the late-Pahlavi 'imperial calendar' (Shahanshahi) series — controversially replaced the Islamic calendar in 1976.
Mohammad Reza Shah
ObverseShah portrait, denomination.
ReversePasargadae / Cyrus's tomb.
Mid-high denomination of the final Bank Markazi Pahlavi series before the 1979 revolution.
Mohammad Reza Shah
ObverseShah portrait in ceremonial dress; denomination in Persian and English.
ReverseTomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae.
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.
Mohammad Reza Shah
ObverseJoint portrait of Reza Shah and Mohammad Reza Shah.
ReverseCommemorative legend marking 50 years of the Pahlavi dynasty.
Special commemorative note for the half-centennial of the dynasty founded by Reza Shah in 1925.
Reza Shah Pahlavi
ObverseLion-and-Sun emblem with Pahlavi crown above.
ReverseValue in Persian; SH date.
Early Pahlavi gold toman issued before the 1932 currency reform that replaced toman/qiran with the rial. These first issues retained the Qajar-era denomination system briefly.
Reza Shah Pahlavi
ObverseReza Shah portrait in coronation regalia.
ReversePersian inscription marking Nowruz, the first New Year after his coronation.
Struck for the first Nowruz of the new Pahlavi era — Reza Shah was crowned on 25 April 1926 and the spring equinox that followed was celebrated as the dynastic refoundation of Iran.
Reza Shah Pahlavi
ObverseBust of Reza Shah in military uniform, right.
ReverseLion-and-Sun with crown; value '5 Rial' and SH date.
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
ObverseBust of Mohammad Reza Shah right.
ReverseLion-and-Sun in wreath; value '5 Pahlavi' and SH date.
Heavy bullion gold piece, half-ounce class — issued primarily as an investment instrument by Bank Markazi alongside the 1, 2½ and 10 Pahlavi denominations.
Mohammad Reza Shah
ObverseBare-headed bust of the Shah right.
ReverseCrowned Lion-and-Sun within wreath; value '1 Rial' and SH date.
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
ObverseBare-headed bust of the Shah right.
ReverseCrowned Lion-and-Sun in wreath; value '2 Rial'.
Mid-range minor denomination of the modernised Pahlavi coinage struck by Bank Markazi from the late 1950s onward.
Mohammad Reza Shah
ObverseBare-headed bust of the Shah right.
ReverseCrowned Lion-and-Sun in wreath; value '5 Rial'.
Highest-denomination cupronickel circulation coin of the era — the largest pocket coin most Iranians handled before the 1979 revolution.
Mohammad Reza Shah
ObverseShah's portrait in ceremonial dress with Pahlavi crown.
ReverseGolestan Palace vignette.
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
ObverseShah in military dress with Pahlavi crown.
ReverseAmir Kabir Dam at Karaj — a flagship infrastructure project of the White Revolution.
Mid-low denomination of the Bank Markazi series — the everyday note for taxi fares and market purchases throughout the 1970s.
Mohammad Reza Shah
ObverseShah portrait with Persepolis vignette.
ReverseTomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae; commemorative legend.
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
ObverseShah portrait in elaborate ceremonial dress.
ReverseSa'd-Abad Palace complex, Tehran.
Workhorse high-denomination note of the oil-boom decade — printed by De La Rue (London) and Thomas De La Rue's Tehran-licensed press.