Catalog
100 Rials Type 2 Overprint
| Issuer | Bank Markazi Iran |
|---|---|
| Year | 1979 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Second Rial (1932-date) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Maroon on orange, green and multicolour underprint with a Persian carpet vignette at centre. An arabesque guilloche overprint obscures the Shah's portrait, while a lion and sun overprint is applied over the watermark area; two red serial numbers appear on the face. Floral motifs occupy the lower left, and a black security thread runs vertically through the note. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | BANK MARKAZI IRAN 100 100 RIALS |
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| Comments |
This note is a provisional issue born directly from the February 1979 revolution — the new Islamic government needed circulating currency immediately but lacked the time or infrastructure to commission entirely new designs. The solution was to overprint existing imperial-era De La Rue stock, effacing the Shah's portrait with a black geometric pattern. Two signature combinations exist under Pick 118 because the provisional government's own monetary appointments were still in flux during those first chaotic months.
The overprint series was always a stopgap. Dedicated Islamic Republic designs followed within a few years, making these transitional pieces a precise timestamp of institutional rupture.