50 Rials

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.