200 Rials

This note bridges two political orders in the most literal way possible. The underlying plate design was prepared by Thomas De La Rue for the Imperial Bank of Iran — before the February 1979 revolution removed the Shah. Rather than commission entirely new printing, the provisional revolutionary authorities initially overprinted existing stocks, masking the Shah's portrait with a solid black rectangle and later with a geometric overprint, depending on the issue variant. P#119 represents one step in that rapid improvisation.

De La Rue continued supplying the new Islamic Republic through the early transition years, an arrangement driven by practical necessity rather than political alignment.