Qajar Dynasty Coins

ObverseCalligraphic Persian inscription.

ReverseMint and date.

Heavy gold toman — first figural Iranian coin types in 1100 years on related issues.

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.

ObverseLion-and-Sun with crown, value and date.

ReversePersian legend.

Among the largest Qajar gold denominations. Muzaffar al-Din signed the Constitution in 1906.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

ObverseRoyal portrait, denomination.

ReverseBranch overprint.

High-denomination Imperial Bank note — equivalent to a modest annual salary at issue.

ObverseShah portrait; 'Payable at Yazd' overprint.

ReverseSerial numbers.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.