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500 Rials - Rezā Pahlavī 2nd. portrait
| Issuer | Bank Melli Iran |
|---|---|
| Year | 1934 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in blue. A central circular vignette contains the Imperial Iranian Coat of Arms — the lion passant with sword and rising sun — surrounded by a wreath and surmounted by the Pahlavi crown, all set within elaborate guilloche framework. Persian inscription پانصد ریال appears in scrolled cartouches to either side of the central vignette, with denomination numeral 500 in Western and Eastern Arabic script in the corners, and the imprint of the American Bank Note Company at the bottom margin. |
| Reverse lettering | بانک ملی ایران پانصد ریال ۵۰۰ (Translation: Bank Melli Iran / Five Hundred Rials / 500) |
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| Comments |
Bank Melli Iran was established in 1928 as the first Iranian state bank with exclusive note-issuing rights, displacing the British-controlled Imperial Bank of Persia. The American Bank Note Company contract for this series was a deliberate geopolitical signal — Reza Shah was actively courting American commercial relationships as a counterweight to British and Soviet influence, and placing the printing order in New York rather than London or Paris made that point without requiring a speech.
P#29 is notably scarcer than the lower denominations of the same ABNC series, consistent with high-value notes that spent less time in everyday hands.