Bank Melli Iran had been issuing notes through Bradbury, Wilkinson since the early 1930s, but the political situation by 1942 was anything but routine. The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in August 1941 had deposed Reza Shah, installed his son Mohammad Reza, and placed the country under joint Allied occupation. High-denomination notes like this 10,000 Rial issue circulated against a backdrop of severe wartime inflation driven partly by Allied military spending flooding the local economy with purchasing power that domestic supply simply could not absorb.
Bradbury, Wilkinson continued printing in New Malden throughout, the physical distance from Tehran no obstacle given Britain's direct administrative reach into Iran at the time.
Bank Melli Iran had been issuing notes through Bradbury, Wilkinson since the early 1930s, but the political situation by 1942 was anything but routine. The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in August 1941 had deposed Reza Shah, installed his son Mohammad Reza, and placed the country under joint Allied occupation. High-denomination notes like this 10,000 Rial issue circulated against a backdrop of severe wartime inflation driven partly by Allied military spending flooding the local economy with purchasing power that domestic supply simply could not absorb.
Bradbury, Wilkinson continued printing in New Malden throughout, the physical distance from Tehran no obstacle given Britain's direct administrative reach into Iran at the time.