Catalog
50 Rials
| Issuer | Bank Melli Iran |
|---|---|
| Year | 1951 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Green note with an intricate guilloche underprint across the entire field. A portrait vignette of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi in Western dress appears at the right, within an ornate frame. The denomination in Persian script (پنجاه ریال) is inscribed centrally, with the bank name in Persian along the top border and serial numbers in red at the upper and lower margins. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | بانک ملی ایران پنجاه ریال ۵۰ |
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| Comments |
Pick 61 belongs to the post-nationalization period, issued after Mohammad Mosaddegh's government moved to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1951 — a decision that triggered a British-led economic blockade and severe foreign exchange pressure on Iran. Bank Melli, as the sole bank of issue, was managing a currency system under acute external stress during exactly the years these notes were in active circulation.
The series was printed by Harrison and Sons of London, a continuing arrangement that created the awkward situation of Iran's national bank depending on a British printer while its government was locked in a dispute with British petroleum interests.