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50 Rials - Mohammad Rezā Pahlavī Winged Lion
| Issuer | Bank Markazi Iran |
|---|---|
| Year | 1971 |
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| Currency | Second Rial (1932-date) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field bears the Imperial Pahlavi coat of arms featuring the Lion and Sun device, surmounted by the Pahlavi crown. The denomination appears in both Persian numerals and Latin script, flanked by decorative Persepolis-inspired motifs repeated twenty-five times around the design, symbolising the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire. The dual dates appear in both the Gregorian (1971) and Solar Hijri (1350) calendars. The fineness mark '999' is also inscribed in the field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | محمدرضا شاه پهلوى آريامهر شاهنشاه ايران ﷼ ۵۰ 50 RIALS 1971 ۱۳۵۰ 999 (Translation: Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi Aryamehr the king of Iran) |
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| Additional information |
This piece was struck specifically for the October 1971 celebration at Persepolis, where Mohammad Reza Shah staged a $200 million extravaganza marking 2,500 years of Persian imperial monarchy. The guest list ran to dozens of heads of state; the food was flown in from Maxim's of Paris. Ayatollah Khomeini, then in exile in Najaf, issued a fatwa condemning the festivities as an affront to Islam — a political fracture that would deepen for another eight years before breaking the dynasty entirely.
The .999 fineness is unusually high for a commemorative of this period, suggesting the Shah intended these as prestige objects rather than circulation pieces.