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20 Rials Mohammad Rezā Pahlavī
| Issuer | Bank Markazi Iran |
|---|---|
| Year | 1964 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 136 × 69 mm |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio portrait of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in three-quarter view occupies the right vignette, set within an arched frame against a pink and olive-green guilloche underprint. The bank title in Persian script appears in a decorative cartouche at top centre, flanked by the numeral 20 in each upper corner, while an elaborate multicolour rosette vignette at centre bears the denomination in Persian script. A blank oval reserve for the watermark occupies the left field, and the ornate border consists of interlaced floral and lace-pattern guilloche work. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A royal hunt scene after a Qajar-era painting fills the central vignette, rendered in brown intaglio on a pink underprint, with mounted horsemen in traditional dress in full gallop pursuing gazelles across an open landscape. The bank name BANK MARKAZI IRAN appears in Latin script within a dark rectangular panel at the top, and the denomination numeral 20 is set in the upper-right and lower-left corners. Persian denomination legends flank the vignette, and the inscription RIALS 20 in Latin characters runs along the lower border, the whole enclosed within a lace-pattern guilloche frame. |
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| Comments |
By 1964, Bank Markazi Iran had settled into a productive relationship with Harrison & Sons, who handled much of the Shah's note production through the 1960s and into the 1970s. Harrison's intaglio work during this period was technically accomplished, and their High Wycombe facility handled sovereign contracts across dozens of countries simultaneously — Iran was one of the more consistent clients.
Pick 78 belongs to a series that ran across several signature combinations, and the specific pairing of signatories is the primary variable distinguishing catalog varieties within this type. Worth confirming before cataloging further.