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20 Rials Mohammad Rezā Pahlavī
| Issuer | Bank Melli Iran |
|---|---|
| Year | 1954 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 131 × 69 mm |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | بانک ملی ایران بیست ریال ۱۳۳۳ |
| Reverse description | Central vignette of the Bank Melli Iran headquarters building in Tehran, rendered in a detailed architectural engraving with automobiles and a bus visible in the foreground and trees flanking the structure. Denomination numerals '20' appear at upper corners and lower left, with decorative geometric rosette panels at each corner. The legend 'BANK MELLI IRAN' is inscribed across the top margin and 'RIALS 20' along the lower margin, both in Latin script. |
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| Comments |
The P#65 series was issued in the immediate aftermath of the 1953 coup that restored Mohammad Reza Shah to the Peacock Throne following Mosaddegh's overthrow. Bank Melli Iran had continued issuing notes through the political upheaval, but this series marked a consolidation of royal authority into the currency — a deliberate act of stabilization as much as monetary administration.
Thomas De La Rue's involvement in Iranian banknote production during this period was long-standing, predating the nationalization crisis. The 20 Rial denomination was a workhorse of daily commerce and saw heavy circulation wear; surviving high-grade examples are genuinely harder to locate than the larger denominations from the same series.