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50 Rials - Mohammad Rezā Pahlavī 2nd. portrait
| Issuer | Bank Melli Iran |
|---|---|
| Year | 1948 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Rials (50 IRR) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Green on multicolor underprint. Second portrait of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in military uniform at right, set against an intricate guilloche underprint. Bank name and denomination appear in Persian script, with the value numerals repeated in the corners. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | پنجاه ریال ۵۰ از تخت جمشید BANK MELLI IRAN (Translation: Fifty Rials 50 From Persepolis National Bank of Iran) |
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| Comments |
Harrison & Sons secured the contract for Iranian banknotes in the postwar period, and this 1948 issue falls within the early run of that relationship — a period when the Iranian government was navigating acute financial pressure from the nationalization debates already building around Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Bank Melli, as the sole bank of issue since 1928, was printing currency against an economy running well ahead of its hard currency reserves.
The "2nd portrait" designation in the Pick catalog distinguishes this from the earlier Mohammad Reza Shah likeness used on the immediate postwar issues — a subtle but catalogically significant difference that catches out inattentive buyers.