Qajar coinage introduced the Lion-and-Sun emblem, mechanised minting (1877), and the country's first banknotes (1890, Imperial Bank of Persia). Denominations: toman (gold), qiran (silver), shahi (copper).
Qajar coins are the gold tomans, silver krans and copper fulus of Iran from 1789 to 1925 — hand-struck at first, then machine-struck at Tehran from 1877 — and the series that introduced two enduring Iranian icons: the royal portrait and the Lion and Sun.
| Period | 1789–1925 CE |
|---|---|
| Gold | Toman, typically 2.8–3.5 g; multiples up to 10 tomans |
| Silver | Kran (qiran) ~4.6 g, and 2, 5 kran multiples |
| Copper | Fulus with animal and zodiac types |
| Reverse icon | Lion and Sun (shir-o-khorshid) |
| Machine striking | Tehran mint, from 1877 with Brussels-made presses |
Fath-Ali Shah (1797–1834) put a human figure back on Iranian money for the first time since the Sasanians, showing himself seated in full regalia with his famous long beard on presentation gold. It was a deliberate revival of pre-Islamic royal imagery, and it set the visual grammar of Iranian coinage for the next century.
Under Naser al-Din Shah (1848–1896) the portrait becomes a European-style bust in profile, engraved by or after French and Belgian die-cutters. His long reign produced the bulk of surviving Qajar coinage, in gold, silver and copper, and in a wide range of mints.
The shir-o-khorshid — a lion holding a sword before a rising sun with a human face — appears on the reverse of most Qajar silver and gold, usually within a wreath and surmounted by the Kayanid crown. Its origins are astrological (the sun in Leo) and its adoption as a state emblem is a Qajar consolidation of older Safavid and Timurid usage.
The crown above the lion is a dating aid in itself: the form of the crown, the presence of the sword, and the sun's facial features change measurably across the nineteenth century.
Early Qajar coins are hand-struck on irregular flans with off-centre legends — the same technology as Safavid and Zand issues. In 1877 Naser al-Din Shah installed steam-powered presses at Tehran, and the coinage changes completely: perfectly round flans, milled edges, consistent weight, and dies cut in a European engraving idiom.
The machine-struck kran of about 4.6 g became the workhorse coin of late Qajar Iran, joined by 2- and 5-kran pieces. Provincial hand-struck coinage continued briefly at mints such as Herat, Mashhad, Tabriz and Isfahan before Tehran centralised production.
The Imperial Bank of Persia, a British-chartered institution granted a note-issuing concession in 1889, printed the first widely circulating Iranian paper money, denominated in tomans and redeemable only at the branch named on the note.
That branch clause created an accidental collecting field: Tehran and Tabriz notes are the most available, while Yazd, Kermanshah, Bushire and Sultanabad notes are markedly scarcer. Condition dominates value, and cancelled or hole-punched specimens trade well below intact notes.
Machine-struck krans of Naser al-Din and Mozaffar al-Din are common and affordable in circulated grade. Value concentrates in early hand-struck gold, large presentation multiples, scarce provincial mints, and any coin with fully struck-up portrait detail.
Beware cleaned and polished silver — a bright, hairlined surface is the most common problem in this series, and it costs a substantial share of value against an original toned example.
Fath-Ali Shah's portrait toman is the first Iranian coin showing a ruler's face since pre-Islamic times.
Naser al-Din Shah introduced machine-struck coinage in 1877 from Vienna and Brussels mints, then the new Tehran mint.
1890: the British-chartered Imperial Bank of Persia issued the first paper currency — a banking revolution that ended in the 1891 Tobacco Protest.
Late Qajar coinage carried solar calendar dates and the Lion-and-Sun (Shir-o-Khorshid) emblem.
Fath-Ali Shah Qajar
ObverseCalligraphic Persian inscription.
ReverseMint and date.
Heavy gold toman — first figural Iranian coin types in 1100 years on related issues.
Fath-Ali Shah Qajar
ObversePersian legend with ruler's title.
Reverse'Zarb Ganja' (Struck at Ganja) with AH date.
Struck at the Ganja mint in the contested Caucasus frontier — the city was ceded to the Russian Empire under the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan, ending Qajar minting there. 1 toman = 10 qiran = 1000 dinars.
Muzaffar al-Din Shah era
ObverseLion-and-Sun with crown, value and date.
ReversePersian legend.
Among the largest Qajar gold denominations. Muzaffar al-Din signed the Constitution in 1906.
Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar
ObverseRuler's bust facing.
ReverseLion-and-Sun in wreath with AH date.
Mohammad Ali Shah's brief reign was dominated by his attempt to abolish the Constitution; he was deposed in 1909 and went into Russian exile.
Ahmad Shah Qajar
ObverseRuler's young bust facing.
ReverseLion-and-Sun with crown, denomination and SH date.
Last Qajar ruler — crowned aged 11, deposed by Reza Khan in 1925. His machine-struck Tehran-mint coinage carries solar Hijri (SH) dates.
Muzaffar al-Din Shah era
ObverseLion-and-Sun cartouche; denomination in Persian and English; payable at the issuing branch only.
ReverseBranch overprint and serial numbers.
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.
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
ObversePortrait of Naser al-Din Shah with Lion-and-Sun crest.
ReversePersian and English text; branch payment clause.
The smallest denomination of the earliest Iranian banknote series.
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
ObverseShah's portrait, denomination, ornate guilloché frame.
ReverseBranch and serial details.
Mid-range Imperial Bank note; a Tehran-payable 10 toman would not be accepted in Tabriz.
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
ObverseRoyal portrait, denomination.
ReverseBranch overprint.
High-denomination Imperial Bank note — equivalent to a modest annual salary at issue.
Naser al-Din / late Qajar
ObverseShah portrait; 'Payable at Yazd' overprint.
ReverseSerial numbers.
A surviving example illustrating the branch-bound nature of early Iranian paper money.
Mozaffar al-Din Shah Qajar
ObverseLion-and-Sun emblem in wreath with crown above; denomination and Hijri date.
ReverseRuler's name and title in Persian Nastaliq.
Mozaffar al-Din Shah signed the 1906 Constitution that established Iran's first parliament (Majles), making him the last absolute Qajar monarch. His machine-struck Tehran coinage in qirans and tomans set the standard for late-Qajar circulation.
Fath-Ali Shah Qajar
ObversePersian couplet praising the shah in elegant Nastaliq.
Reverse'Zarb Isfahan' (Struck at Isfahan) with AH date.
Isfahan remained one of the principal Qajar mints, continuing the Safavid tradition. Silver issues here carried the heaviest provincial production for the central Iranian plateau.
Fath-Ali Shah Qajar
ObversePersian Nowruz couplet in Nastaliq calligraphy.
Reverse'Zarb Tabriz' with the AH date.
Special presentation issue ('sekke-ye sahib-qiran') struck for the Nowruz New Year celebrations at the Tabriz mint — distributed at court as ceremonial largesse rather than circulating currency.
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
ObverseLion-and-Sun in wreath, denomination, AH date.
ReversePersian Nastaliq legend with the shah's name and titles.
The qiran (1/10 toman) was the workhorse silver coin of Naser al-Din's 48-year reign — the longest of any Qajar shah and the longest of any Iranian monarch until the late 20th century.
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
ObverseCrowned Lion-and-Sun emblem with rayed sun-face.
ReverseShah's name and titles in Nastaliq; AH date.
Standard one-toman gold piece from the Tehran mint after the 1877 mechanisation. Naser al-Din Shah's three European tours (1873, 1878, 1889) brought back the milling technology and bank-charter ideas that transformed Iranian money.
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
ObverseBust of Naser al-Din Shah in military uniform with Pahlavi-style decorations.
ReverseCrowned Lion-and-Sun; '10 Toman' in Persian numerals.
Heavy ceremonial gold piece — among the largest circulating Iranian gold coins of the 19th century. Rare in collectors' hands; struck primarily for royal gifts and bullion reserve.
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
ObverseLion-and-Sun within wreath.
ReverseShah's name with 'Zarb Herat'.
Issued during the brief Iranian occupation of Herat (1856), which triggered the Anglo-Persian War — by the Treaty of Paris (1857) Iran formally renounced all claims to Herat, ending centuries of Persian sovereignty over the city.
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
ObverseLion-and-Sun emblem.
ReverseValue '50 Dinar' and AH date.
Low-denomination copper coin (1/2 shahi = 50 dinar) for everyday market transactions. The 1877 mechanisation finally drove out the old hand-struck 'falus' coppers that had varied wildly between local mints.
Mozaffar al-Din Shah Qajar
ObverseLion-and-Sun within wreath; value '2 Toman' below.
Reverse'Mozaffar al-Din Shah Qajar — Sultan of Iran' in Nastaʿliq.
Mozaffar al-Din was the shah who signed the 1906 Constitution five days before his death — the first constitutional monarchy in the Islamic world. His machine-struck gold is well-engraved and relatively common. Image: related Naser al-Din Tehran gold.
Ahmad Shah Qajar era
ObversePortrait of Ahmad Shah Qajar; payable on demand at the named branch.
ReversePersepolis bull-capital vignette; English and Persian legends.
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.