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20 Tomans Muzaffar al-Din Shah
| Issuer | Imperial Bank of Persia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1924-1932 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Toman (200) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Red and brown on multicolour underprint. An oval vignette at right bears a portrait of Muzaffar al-Din Shah, flanked by the Imperial coat of arms at centre and framed throughout by intricate guilloche work. Persian inscriptions denote the denomination and issuing authority, with the value "بیست تومان" (Twenty Tomans) rendered in bold lettering. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Red and brown on fine guilloche underprint. A central oval vignette presents the Persian Imperial coat of arms — a lion passant holding a sword before a rising sun, enclosed within a wreath of oak and laurel branches surmounted by a crown. The bank title arches above the vignette, the denomination panel below reads "TWENTY TOMANS", large numeral "20" medallions occupy each corner, and a blank circular panel at right was reserved for a city overprint stamp. |
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| Comments |
The Imperial Bank of Persia was a British-chartered institution — established under a concession granted to Baron Julius de Reuter in 1889 — that functioned as Persia's state bank and sole note-issuing authority until Reza Shah established Bank Melli Iran in 1928. That transition didn't immediately end this series; notes continued to be dated into 1932 as the Imperial Bank wound down its circulation role over several years of awkward coexistence with the new national bank.
Muzaffar al-Din Shah died in 1907, nearly two decades before this print run began. His name on notes issued well into the Pahlavi period reflects the Imperial Bank's reluctance — or inability — to retool plates quickly as Persian political authority changed hands beneath it. Bradbury, Wilkinson produced the sheets in Surrey throughout.