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500 Rials Islamic Republic
| Issuer | Bank Markazi Iran |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003-2009 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The central vignette portrays the main entrance gate of the University of Tehran, rendered in intaglio with two large modernist concrete arch structures framing a tree-lined avenue, executed in green and brown tones against a pale guilloche underprint. Decorative arabesque panels border the left side, with numeral '500' in ornamental cartouches at lower left and upper right. The lower margin carries the English legend 'FIVE HUNDRED RIALS' and the Arabic caption سردر دانشگاه تهران, with a small dove and floral motif at upper right. |
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| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Portrait of Ayatollah Khomeini |
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| Comments |
The 500 Rial note is one of the lowest-denomination printed notes still in circulation during this period — worth a fraction of a US cent by the mid-2000s, a direct consequence of the sustained inflation and exchange rate collapse that followed the 1979 revolution and the economically devastating 1980–1988 war with Iraq. At this value, the note was functionally approaching irrelevance even while still being printed.
Thomas De La Rue's continued role as printer is notable given the US-led sanctions regime of the era, though Iran maintained various European banking and printing relationships well into the 2000s. Four signature combinations across the series reflects genuine ministerial turnover rather than any single political rupture.