This fractional gold issue dates to the final turbulent decade of Nāṣer al-Dīn Shāh's fifty-year reign — the longest of any Qājār monarch. By 1892, his government had just granted the British Imperial Tobacco Corporation a sweeping concession over all Persian tobacco production and trade, triggering a nationwide boycott led by senior clergy. The resulting pressure forced a rare reversal: the concession was cancelled in early 1892, costing the crown £500,000 in compensation. Coins struck in this window circulated through an economy already strained by that episode.
This fractional gold issue dates to the final turbulent decade of Nāṣer al-Dīn Shāh's fifty-year reign — the longest of any Qājār monarch. By 1892, his government had just granted the British Imperial Tobacco Corporation a sweeping concession over all Persian tobacco production and trade, triggering a nationwide boycott led by senior clergy. The resulting pressure forced a rare reversal: the concession was cancelled in early 1892, costing the crown £500,000 in compensation. Coins struck in this window circulated through an economy already strained by that episode.