3 Tomans

The Imperial Bank of Persia was chartered in 1889 under a concession granted by Naser al-Din Shah to Baron Julius de Reuter — the same Reuters of news agency fame, who had previously failed at a far more sweeping economic concession covering Iranian railways and mines. The bank held the exclusive right to issue banknotes throughout Persia, a privilege that generated resentment from Iranian merchants and nationalist politicians almost from the start.

Bradbury, Wilkinson produced the plates with their characteristic fine-line engraving, and the notes were shipped to Persia for signing and issue. The 3-Toman denomination is an odd one — most series avoid units divisible only awkwardly into standard commercial transactions — and surviving examples from the early years of this thirty-plus-year print run are substantially rarer than the higher denominations.