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500 Rials - Mohammad Rezā Pahlavī
| Issuer | Bank Melli Iran |
|---|---|
| Year | 1948-1951 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | بانک ملی ایران پانصد ریال (Translation: Bank Melli Iran / Five Hundred Rials) |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Portrait watermark of Mohammad Reza Shah visible in the blank oval area of the note |
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| Comments |
Bank Melli Iran had relied on British printers since the bank's founding in 1928, and Harrison & Sons' contract for this series continued that arrangement through the early years of Mohammad Reza Shah's reign — a politically loaded period given Britain's dominant role in Iranian oil affairs. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company dispute was building toward its 1951 peak precisely as these notes were in circulation, which gives the Harrison imprint a certain irony.
Pick 52 is the first high-denomination series to carry the new Shah's portrait following his father Reza Shah's forced abdication in 1941. The watermark is the sole security feature — modest for a 500-rial note at this value level.