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| Issuer | Imperial Bank of Persia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1924-1932 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Green and multicolour note with an oval portrait vignette of Nasr-ed-Din Shah at right, wearing a tall astrakhan hat and decorated military dress. A large central guilloche medallion carries the denomination in Persian script (دو تومان), surrounded by intricate geometric underprint work in green and orange tones. The issuing bank name appears in Persian script across the top, with two manuscript signatures at lower centre and an official circular government seal, alongside a city-specific payability overprint reading "PAYABLE AT BUSHIRE ONLY" at the foot of the note. |
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| Obverse lettering | فقط در بوشهر ادا خواهد شد بانک شاهنشاهی ایران دو تومان مهر مامور دولت علیه ایران PAYABLE AT BUSHIRE ONLY BRADBURY WILKINSON & C° GRAVEURS NEW MALDEN SURREY ANGLETERRE |
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| Comments |
The Imperial Bank of Persia was a British-chartered institution, established in 1889 under a concession granted to Baron Julius de Reuter — the same Reuter of the news agency. It held the exclusive right to issue banknotes throughout Persia, a privilege that generated persistent resentment from Persian nationalists and, eventually, from the Pahlavi government that replaced the Qajar dynasty in 1925. This note continued circulating under Reza Shah's new regime despite bearing the name of his predecessor's dynasty.
Pick 12 was issued across a span that brackets the 1921 coup and the formal end of the Qajar line. Bradbury Wilkinson held the printing contract throughout.