Rial, the currency of Iran
Money is one of the most important tools that can greatly affect our lives. We spend money in different places every day and even pay for living expenses in different ways. Maybe many days will pass and we will have no need for banknotes and pay our expenses only by using electronic tools. . For example, if you buy a house in Iran, you must pay a certain amount of Iranian Rials. Have you ever wondered where the Iranian currency came from? Was there another currency before Rial? In this article, we try to provide you with useful and interesting information about the Iranian currency.
Iranian currency before rial
Perhaps it is better to go to the units before the Rial at the beginning of the article about the currency of Iran. As you know, the first money in Iran was in the form of coins. The first coin in Iran was minted around 500 BC by the order of Darius the Great. At that time, the currency of Iran, which was an eight-gram gold coin, was called drake.
After that, during the Sasanian era, the currency of Iran was called Pashiz. The word Pashiz, which still has a place in the Persian language, is also rooted in this currency. It is interesting to know that the first banknote printed in Iran was named chav, which became the official currency of the country after the Mongol invasion of Iran. There have been other currencies such as Mahmoudi, Shahi, Abbasi, Qur'an, Naderi, etc., which have been used in different times and governments.
The birth of the Iranian rial
During the Qajar period, the common currency among the people was Toman, Qur'an and Shahi. If we want to express this matter simply, we should say that the Toman is a gold coin and the Qur'an is a silver coin, which is equal to one tenth of a Toman. The word Toman has its roots in the Mongolian language and means 10 thousand. In the Mongolian language, a person who was the commander of 10 thousand soldiers is called Amir Toman.
Toman was a common currency among the people until the beginning of Pahlavi rule. When Reza Khan came to power, he changed the country's currency to Rial in 1311, and this type of Rial was born. The word Rial is borrowed from Spanish and Portuguese and means royalty. This word entered Iran through the Persian Gulf due to the relations between these two countries. The reason for this non-acceptance of the Rial as the currency of Iran is that the Rial was abandoned in a very short period of time during Pahlavi's reign. Since this Rial had no historical roots and people had been using Toman for a long time, the Iranian Rial could not find a place among the people.
Iranian rial after the revolution
The first Iranian Rial coins were minted during the Pahlavi era. Gold coins were worth 100 Rials during the Pahlavi period, and 1, 2, 5 and 10 Rial coins were minted on silver coins at this time. After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the design of the Iranian Rial was changed by removing the face of the Shah. The minting of 50 Riyal coins started in 1359, although it had a different design compared to the Iranian Rial during Pahlavi's time.
Over time, other new coins were also minted, for example, the 100 Riyal coin was minted in 1372 and in 1373 250 riyal coins were released to the market. In 1388, changes were made in the appearance of 50, 100 and 250 Riyal coins and their size was reduced, and in the same year, a 1000 Riyal coin was minted. Finally, 2000 and 5000 Riyal coins were minted in 2009. After that, the minting of Iranian rial coins did not happen again, and the use of these coins is also legal, even though it is not customary.
Printing of Iranian Rial banknotes
The printing of Iranian Rial banknotes started in 1311 with the printing of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Rial banknotes. Of course, in other times like 1314, depending on the needs of the country, 1000 Riyal banknotes were printed and released. It is interesting to know that with the victory of the revolution in Iran in 1357, the printing of banknotes was resumed. This year, because there was a need for banknotes and the design of new banknotes was not yet ready, it was printed with the same design as the previous one, with the change that the king's face was replaced with another design.
The first banknotes of the Islamic Republic were launched with a new design and using images of places such as Imam Reza's shrine or Chahar Bagh school and even the faces of individuals such as Ayatollah Modares. Ayatollah Khomeini did not allow his image to be placed on the banknotes during his lifetime, but after his death, the design of the banknotes was changed again and his face was added to the design of the banknotes.