Catalog
200 Rials
| Issuer | Bank Markazi Iran |
|---|---|
| Year | 1979-1981 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Blue on green and multicolour underprint with guilloche patterning. A Persian carpet vignette occupies the central field, with a Type VIII portrait of Shah Pahlavi at right overlaid by a Lion and Sun national emblem overprint obscuring the watermark area. A Type 2 arabesque overprint marked 'E' is applied over the Shah's portrait, consistent with the Islamic Revolutionary overprint series on P-103d. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The Azadi Tower (Shahyad Square) in Tehran is rendered as the central vignette in blue and green tones, set against a geometric guilloche background with a twelve-pointed star motif integrated into the overall design. Denomination numerals '200' appear at upper left and lower right, with the issuer inscription across the top and 'RIALS' at lower right. |
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| Comments |
This note bridges two political orders in the most literal way possible. The underlying plate design was prepared by Thomas De La Rue for the Imperial Bank of Iran — before the February 1979 revolution removed the Shah. Rather than commission entirely new printing, the provisional revolutionary authorities initially overprinted existing stocks, masking the Shah's portrait with a solid black rectangle and later with a geometric overprint, depending on the issue variant. P#119 represents one step in that rapid improvisation.
De La Rue continued supplying the new Islamic Republic through the early transition years, an arrangement driven by practical necessity rather than political alignment.