Catalog
| Issuer | Bank Melli Iran |
|---|---|
| Year | 1951 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | De La Rue (Thomas De La Rue & Co., TDLR), London, United Kingdom |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | بانک ملی ایران پنجاه ریال ۱۳۳۰ |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Watermark visible in the unprinted oval area on the obverse left side. |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Bank Melli Iran had been issuing notes since 1932, but the early 1950s brought acute political pressure that complicated everything — this note circulated during the period surrounding Mossadegh's oil nationalization crisis, when public confidence in Iranian institutions, including the central bank, was sharply contested. De La Rue's London production continued uninterrupted through those years, insulating the physical printing process from the domestic turbulence.
Pick 56 belongs to a series that ran across several denominations with minimal design revision, making date and signature combinations the primary differentiators for specialists. The watermark remains the only security feature — no security thread, no latent image.