50 Rials Provisional Issue, Type 1

Iran's 1979 provisional overprint program was a pragmatic stopgap: the revolution had swept away the Pahlavi regime, but a new currency couldn't be designed and printed overnight. Rather than destroy existing stock, Bank Markazi authorized overprinting the Shah's face on banknotes already in circulation or held in reserve — effectively defacing the old order while keeping the monetary supply intact. The overprint on Type 1 notes was applied domestically, not by De La Rue, whose involvement ended with the original substrate.

These provisional issues are among the more politically legible artifacts of the transition period, and the overprint quality varies considerably depending on when and where it was applied.