The rial (ریال in Persian; ISO 4217 code IRR) is the currency of Iran. The toman (تومان in Persian, pronounced) is a superunit of the official currency Rial. The Dinar is the name of the official currency in several countries A currency sign is a graphic symbol often used as a shorthand for a Currency 's name A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is the entity responsible for the Monetary policy of a country or of a group of member states The Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran (بانک مرکزی جمهوری اسلامی ايران Bank Markazi Jomhouri Islami Iran) is the Central bank ISO 4217 is the International standard describing three-letter codes (also known as the currency code) to define the names of currencies established For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. It is subdivided into 100 dinar but, because of the very low current value of the rial, no fraction of the rial is used in accounting.

Although not an official currency since 1932, the toman (ten rial) is frequently used to express amounts of money. The toman (تومان in Persian, pronounced) is a superunit of the official currency Rial. Prices are currently most commonly marked in toman, sometimes meaning 1,000 or 1,000,000 toman (10,000 or 10,000,000 rial).

There is no official symbol for the currency but the Iranian standard ISIRI 820 defined a symbol for use on typewriters (mentioning that it is an invention of the standards committee itself) and the two Iranian standards ISIRI 2900 and ISIRI 3342 define a character code to be used for it. The Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran ( ISIRI; مؤسسهٔ استاندارد و تحقیقات صنعتی ایران) is the Iranian The Unicode Standard has a compatibility character defined for "RIAL SIGN" [﷼] at the position U+FDFC. In Computing, Unicode is an Industry standard allowing Computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in most of the world's ^[1]

History

The rial was first introduced in 1798 as a coin worth 1250 dinar or one eighth of a toman. The toman (تومان in Persian, pronounced) is a superunit of the official currency Rial. In 1825, the rial ceased to be issued, with the qiran of 1000 dinars (one tenth of a toman) being issued as part of a decimal system. The qiran (قران also qerun or kran was a currency of Iran between 1825 and 1932 The rial replaced the qiran at par in 1932, although it was divided into one hundred (new) dinars.

Prior to decimalisation in 1932, these coins and currencies were used, and some of these terms still have wide usage in Iranian languages and proverbs:^[2]

Value

In 1932, the exchange rate with the British pound was 1 pound = 59. In the management of currencies, decimalisation (or decimalization) is the process of converting from traditional denominations to a " Decimal " The Samanids (819–999 ( Sāmāniyān) were a Persian dynasty in Central Asia and Greater Khorasan, named after its founder Saman Mahmud of Ghazni (محمود غزنوی Maḥmūd-e Ghaznawī ( November 2, 971 - April 30, 1030) also known as Yāmīn Shāh ‘Abbās I or Shāh ‘Abbās the Great ( (born January 27, 1571; died January 19, 1629) was Shah of Iran and the most eminent Nāder Shāh Afshār ( also known as Nāder Qoli Beg - نادر قلی بیگ or Tahmāsp Qoli Khān - تهماسپ قلی خان) (November The qiran (قران also qerun or kran was a currency of Iran between 1825 and 1932 Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar (var Fathalishah Fathali Shah Fath Ali Shah (‎ ( 5 September 1772 - 23 October 1834) was the second Qajar The Qajar dynasty (also known as Ghajar or Kadjar ( ( - or دودمان قاجار) is a common term to describe Iran (then known as Persia) under The toman (تومان in Persian, pronounced) is a superunit of the official currency Rial. The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate or Il Khanate (Ил Хан улс Il Khan uls;) was a Mongol Khanate established in The Pound Sterling ( symbol £; ISO code: GBP) subdivided into 100 pence (singular penny) is the Currency 75 rial. This changed to 80. 25 in 1936, 64. 350 in 1939, 68. 8 in 1940, 141 in 1941 and 129 in 1942. In 1945, Iran switched to the U.S. dollar as the peg for its currency, with 1 dollar = 32. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been 25 rial. The rate was changed to 1 dollar = 75. 75 rial in 1957. Iran did not follow the dollar's devaluation in 1973, leading to a new peg of 1 dollar = 68. Devaluation is a reduction in the value of a Currency with respect to other monetary units 725 rial. The peg to the U. S. dollar was dropped in 1975.

In 1979, 1 rial equaled $0. 0141. The value of Iran's currency declined precipitously after the Islamic revolution because of capital flight from the country. The Iranian Revolution' (mostly known as the Islamic Revolution, Persian: انقلاب اسلامی Enghelābe Eslāmi was the Revolution that transformed Capital flight, in Economics, occurs when Assets and/or Money rapidly flow out of a Country, due to an economic event that disturbs Investors ^[3][4]. Whereas on 15 March 1978, 71. Events 44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) 46 rials equaled one U. S. dollar, in July 1999, 9430 rials amounted to one dollar. However, the value of the rial has become more stable since 1999, as the economy of Iran has been growing rapidly and away from the dollar zone. The economy of Iran is a Transition economy where a continuing strong labour force growth unmatched by commensurate real economic growth is driving up Unemployment (See Iran Currency Exchange Rate History: 1975 - 2007).

Exchange rate system

Until 2002, Iran’s exchange rate system was based on a multi-layered system, where state and para-state enterprises benefited from the preferred rate (1750 rial for $1) while the private sector had to pay the market rate (8000 rial for $1), hence creating an unequal competition environment. However, in March 2002, the multi-tiered system was replaced by a unified, market-driven exchange rate.

Exchange rates: Rials per US dollar - 9,246. In Finance, the exchange rates (also known as the foreign-exchange rate, forex rate or FX rate) between two currencies specifies how 94 (2006), 8,964 (2005), 8,885 (2004), 8,193. 89 (2003)

Pre-unification, Rials per US dollar:

Market: 8,200 (2002), 8,050 (2001), 8,350 (2000)^[5]

Preferred: 6,906. 96 (2002), 1,753. 56 (2001), 1,764. 43 (2000)^[6]

Redenomination

Because of the current low value of rial, and that people rarely use the term, redenomination or change of currency was first proposed in the late 1980s. Denomination is a proper description of a Currency amount usually for Coins or Banknotes Denominations may also be used with other means of payment like The issue has re-emerged and been under discussion, as a result of issuance of larger banknotes in 2003. Opponents of redenomination are wary of more inflation resulting from psychological effects, and increase in velocity of money leading to more instabilities in the economy of Iran. The velocity of money is the average Frequency with which a unit of Money is spent in a specific period of Time. ^[7][8]

On April 12, 2007, the Economics Commission of the Parliament announced initiation of a statute in draft to change the currency, claiming redenominations has helped reduce inflation elsewhere, such as in Turkey. Events 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The Majlis of Iran ( Persian: مجلس شورای اسلامی lit The new lira (yeni türk lirası is the Currency of Turkey. The de facto independent state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus also ^[9]

Coins

First rial

Silver coins were issued in denominations of ⅛, ¼, ½ and 1 rial. Silver coins are possibly the oldest mass form of Coinage Silver has been used as a coinage Metal since the times of the Greeks Their silver drachmas

Second rial

The first coins of the second rial currency were in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 25 dinar, ½, 1, 2 and 5 rial, with the ½ to 5 rial coins minted in silver. Gold coins denominated in pahlavi were also issued, initially valued at 100 rial. In 1944, the silver coinage was reduced in size, with the smallest silver coins being 1 rial pieces. This year also saw the cessation of minting of all denominations below 25 dinar. In 1945, silver 10 rial coins were introduced. In 1953, silver coins ceased to be minted, with the smallest denomination now 50 dinar. 20 rial coins were introduced in 1972.

After the Islamic Revolution, the coinage designs were changed to remove the Shah's effigy but the sizes and compositions were not immediately changed. The Iranian Revolution' (mostly known as the Islamic Revolution, Persian: انقلاب اسلامی Enghelābe Eslāmi was the Revolution that transformed 50 dinar coins were only minted in 1980 and 50 rial coins were introduced in 1981. In 1993, a new coinage was introduced with smaller 1, 5, 10 and 50 rial coins and new 100 rial pieces. 250 rial coins were introduced the following year. In 2004, the sizes of the 50, 100 and 250 rial coins were reduced and 500 rial coins were introduced.

Coins currently in circulation are 50, 100, 250 and 500 rial. The 5 and 10 rials are still legal tender but are not issued anymore. Legal tender or forced tender is Payment that by Law, cannot be refused in settlement of a Debt ( Debtor cannot successfully be sued

Banknotes

In 1932, notes were issued by the "Bank Melli Iran" in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 rial. Bank Melli Iran (بانک ملی ایران ( BMI) also called the National Bank of Iran, is the first national Iranian Bank. 1000 rial notes were introduced in 1935, followed by 200 rial notes in 1951 and 5000 and 10,000 rial in 1952. 5 rial notes were last issued in the 1940s, with 10 rial notes disappearing in the 1960s. In 1961, the Central Bank of Iran took over the issuance of paper money.

In 1979, after the Islamic revolution, Iranian banknotes featuring the Shah's face were counter-stamped with intricate designs to cover the Shah's face. The first regular issues of the Islamic Republic were in denominations of 100, 200, 500, 1000, 5000 and 10,000 rial. 2000 rial notes were introduced in 1986.

Issuance of larger notes

Printing banknotes larger than 10,000 rials was first proposed in 1989, and in 1992 the central bank asked for government permission to print 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000 rial notes. This was not realized at that time, due to fears of inflation and counterfeiting. A counterfeit is an imitation that is made usually with the intent to deceptively represent its content or origins ^[7] 10,000 rial note remained the highest valued note for more than 50 years, until 2003 when 20,000 rial notes were added.

On 4 March 2007, it was announced that Iran would issue a 50,000 rial banknote with the subject being the Iranian nuclear energy program. Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The nuclear program of Iran was launched in the 1950s with the help of the United States as part of the Atoms for Peace program The note was issued on 12 March. Events 538 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving ^[10][11] The note features a quote by Mohammed, translated as: "Even if science is at the Pleiades, some men from the land of Persia would attain it". IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics The Pleiades (ˈpliːədiːz or /ˈplaɪədiːz/ also known as M 45, the '''Seven Sisters''', Seven Stars, SED, Matariki The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia ^[12] The note also features the English term: "Persian Gulf", a reference to Persian Gulf naming dispute. The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region is an extension of the The name of the body of water separating the Arabian Peninsula from Iran has been disputed by some Arab countries since the 1960s (See specimen)

Banknotes currently in circulation are 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000 rials. A banknote (often known as a bill, paper money or simply a note) is a kind of Negotiable instrument, a Promissory note made by a Portraits of Ruhollah Khomeini are found on the obverse of 1000 rial banknote and greater. Seyyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini ( Persian:, pronounced muːsæviː-je xomejniː}}( September 24, 1902 – June 3 1989

Cash cheques

Currently the highest valued legal tender issued by the central bank is 50,000 rials (about U. Legal tender or forced tender is Payment that by Law, cannot be refused in settlement of a Debt ( Debtor cannot successfully be sued S$5. 40 in 2007). Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. However, the central bank allows major state banks to print their own banknotes known as "cash cheques" (Persian: چک مسافرتی chekpul). They are a form of bearer teller's-cheque with fixed amounts, printed in the form of official banknotes. A cheque (spelled check in American English) is a Negotiable instrument instructing a Financial institution to pay a specific amount of A cashier's check (also known as a cashier's cheque, bank check, official check, teller's check, bank draft or treasurer's check Once they are acquired from banks, they function like cash for a year, however stores may reject higher value notes. Two forms of these banknotes are available. One known as "Iran cheque" can be cashed in any financial institution, while the other must be cashed at the issuing bank. They are printed in 200,000, 500,000, 1,000,000, 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 rial values. ^[13][14][15]

See also

• Economy of Iran
• Iranian Oil Bourse
• Least valued currency unit

References

External links

• Iran Collection, a website about Persian banknotes and coins since Qajar era.

• Don's World Coin Gallery - Iran
• Ron Wise's World Paper Money - Iran ^{Mirror site}
• Tables of Modern Monetary Systems by Kurt Schuler - Asia ^{Mirror site}
• The Global History of Currencies - Iran
• Global Financial Data data series - Iran Rial
• Global Financial Data currency histories table ( Microsoft Excel format)

• Central Bank of Iran - Statistics

• Iran travel guide from Wikitravel (information on currency exchange and credit card payment)