Catalog
5 Tomans
| Issuer | Imperial Bank of Persia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1890-1923 |
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| Value | 5 Toman (تومان) (50) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | تصویر ناصرالدین شاه قاجار پنج تومان بانک شاهنشاهی ایران مهر مامور دولت علیه ایران (Translation: The name of the city to be used is written at the top of the banknote . Imperial Bank of Iran Portrait of Nasr-ed-Din at right. Five Toman Lion and Sun & Payable Only at Teheran (In some cases the sentence (-- will only be used in Tehran--- فقط در طهران ادا خواهد شد --- ) is written above. Not on the right)) |
| Reverse description | Printed in brown throughout, the reverse is dominated by an elaborate guilloche framework with large numeral '5' counters in each corner. A central vignette carries the Persian Lion and Sun coat of arms enclosed within a laurel wreath, with the bank title arched above in bold serif lettering and the denomination 'FIVE TOMANS' on a ribbon banner below. The printer's imprint of Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London appears at the foot of the note. |
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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, giving it the exclusive right to issue banknotes throughout Persia. That arrangement was deeply resented by Persian merchants and clergy from the outset, and the notes themselves became flashpoints during periods of nationalist agitation — particularly in the years surrounding the Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911.
Bradbury Wilkinson printed the entire series on a long-running plate design used across the bank's note denominations for decades, which is why date ranges on these issues stretch so far. Individual notes within the P#3 series can sometimes be dated by branch office overprints or manuscript signatures of the local agent.
The bank lost its note-issuing privilege in 1930 when Bank Melli Iran was established as the state bank.