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).
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.