Catalog
500 Rials Islamic Republic
| Issuer | Bank Markazi Iran |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003-2009 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 143 × 70 mm |
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| Obverse description | The central vignette presents an intaglio-rendered scene of a congregation of men engaged in communal prayer, led by a cleric in traditional robes, set against a finely guilloche-patterned underprint in olive and purple tones. At lower left, a vignette of a mosque with a clock tower is rendered in gold, accompanied by the denomination in Persian numerals and lettering. The upper border carries the issuer's name in Arabic script, flanked by decorative cartouches, with the denomination numeral at upper right within an ornamental panel. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The 500 Rial note is one of the lowest-denomination printed notes still in circulation during this period — worth a fraction of a US cent by the mid-2000s, a direct consequence of the sustained inflation and exchange rate collapse that followed the 1979 revolution and the economically devastating 1980–1988 war with Iraq. At this value, the note was functionally approaching irrelevance even while still being printed.
Thomas De La Rue's continued role as printer is notable given the US-led sanctions regime of the era, though Iran maintained various European banking and printing relationships well into the 2000s. Four signature combinations across the series reflects genuine ministerial turnover rather than any single political rupture.