1/4 Azadi

The Azadi ("freedom") gold coin series was introduced by the Islamic Republic in 1979 as a direct replacement for the Pahlavi coinage it abolished — a deliberate act of monetary rebranding following the revolution. The quarter Azadi targets smaller retail demand and is actively traded on the Tehran Stock Exchange as a hedge against rial depreciation, a function that became especially pronounced as U.S. sanctions tightened through the 2000s.

Bank Melli Iran, the issuing authority, is the country's oldest commercial bank, founded in 1927 to replace the British-controlled Imperial Bank of Persia.