Catalog
5 Rials Rezā Pahlavī
| Issuer | Bank Melli Iran |
|---|---|
| Year | 1935 |
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| Currency | Second Rial (1932-date) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | بانک ملی ایران پنج ریال رضا شاه |
| Reverse description | Uniface green note with a circular vignette at left containing the Imperial Iranian Lion and Sun emblem — a lion passant holding a sword with a radiant sun rising behind it, surmounted by a crown — all rendered in fine intaglio line work. To the right, an ornate dark cartouche bears the denomination پنج ریال (Five Rials) in stylised Persian lettering, surrounded by intricate guilloche lacework. The bank name بانک ملی ایران appears in nastaliq script at the upper right, with the printer's imprint AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY. lettered in small Roman capitals along the lower margin. |
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| Comments |
Bank Melli Iran was established in 1928 specifically to displace the British-controlled Imperial Bank of Persia as the sole note-issuing authority — a deliberate assertion of financial independence that took nearly a decade to fully execute. By 1935, the year Reza Shah formally renamed the country from Persia to Iran, the bank had consolidated that authority and this note was issued under the new national identity, making the series a direct artifact of that rebranding moment.
The American Bank Note Company contract reflects Reza Shah's broader strategy of courting American commercial relationships as a counterweight to British and Soviet influence. ABNC printed the series in intaglio, their standard security method at the time.