The "Pahlavi Coins" () were the official gold coins of Iran from 1926 to 1979, and the term "Pahlavi" is the currency of these coins. These coins replaced the Qajar Toman gold coins when Reza Shah Pahlavi came to power in 1925 and the monetary system changed in 1926. After the 1979 Revolution in Iran the name of these coins was changed to "Bahar Azadi".
History
The first Pahlavi coins, which were minted from 1926 to 1929, were similar to Qajar coins in gold purity (0.900) and coin margins (oak and olive branches), but differed in design, type and timeline, weight, and calendar system. In fact, in this period, only in 1926, the standard of the Toman coins weighing (2.85 grams) was used to mint gold coins.
Thus, two thousand dinar coins (one fifth Tomans) and five thousand (half Toman) of Qajar gold coins were generally removed, and coins of one, two and five Pahlavi were replaced with coins of one, two and five Tomans.
Pahlavi coinage rules
Rules of gold coinage in Reza Shah era
The law of determining the unit and the scale of money Source:
This law, legislated in National Majlis on 14 March 1930, had 14 articles, including:
Article 1- Gold Scale: The legal currency of Iran is the Rial of Gold, which is equivalent to one hundred dinars.
Article 2- Coins and their scale
Gold Coin: Twenty Rials called Pahlavi Gold Coin. Ten Rials called Half Pahlavi Gold Coin.
Article 3- Net weight and coin weight
A Rial is equivalent to 0.3661191 grams of pure gold.
Pahlavi gold coin (equivalent to twenty Rials) has 7.322382 grams of pure gold, one kilogram of pure gold should be used for 136.57 pieces of one Pahlavi gold coins.
Half-Pahlavi gold coin has a weight of 3.661191 grams of pure gold, one kilogram of pure gold should be used for 273.2 pieces of half-penny coins.
Note - The grade of gold coins is 900 per 1000 pure gold and 100 per 1000 copper.
Article 4- The maximum weight and purity uncertainty of each gold coin have to be 0.002.
Article 5- Coin shape
a- All the coins mentioned above are round.
b- Gold coins have on one side the image of the king of Iran and on the other side is the Lion and Sun as coat of arms, value, and coinage date.
Article 6- Coinage right
The exclusive right to mint all gold coins in Iran is reserved for the government mint; however, the minting of gold coins is accessible to the general public, and the coinage fee per kilogram of pure gold must not exceed ten rials.
Other articles dealt with defective coins, counterfeit, coins of gold or bullion (as backbone of money), the Rial's prevalence date, the gold import license, the purchase of gold by the government, and the date of law enforcement.
Perhaps this was the first time in the history of coinage in Iran, in which uncertainty was considered in the law.
With the change in the weight and size of "one Pahlavi" gold coin, this coin became approximately equivalent in weight and diameter to the British sovereign started by George III in 1817.
Amendment of the law
The changes, legislated on 13 March 1932, of the mentioned law were as follows:
Article 1- Amendments to the previous resolution are as follows
a-Gold coin of 100 Rials called Pahlavi. Fifty Rials Gold Coin called Half Pahlavi
b- One rial equivalent to 0.033322882 grams of pure gold.
Article 2- From 21 March 1932, the coins of one and half Pahlavi and silver coins of half, one, two and five rials, and nickel coins of five, ten and twenty-five dinars, and banknotes of the American banknote issued in New York, are valid.
Article 3- Since the enactment of the law, the coinage of previous gold coins and silver and nickel coins with Shahi and Qiran currencies have been banned.
As the amendment demonstrates, especially in the case of the depreciation of the Rial against gold, the reduction of silver coins purity from 0.900 to 0.828, The use of the term "Restoration of the normal economic situation" in Article 10 of the Amendment, create restrictions on the issuance of gold and the import of silver and to unify it with the permission of the Cabinet in Article 12 of the Amendment, could imply the financial crisis in Iran at that time. The reason for this economic crisis is the fall in the value of silver in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Because the Iranian currency at that time was based on silver.
Rules of gold coinage in the time of Mohammad Reza Shah
The law of gold coin
The law was passed by the National Majlis on 12 March 1958 and Senate on 17 April 1958, which included seven articles and one note:
Article 1 - This article refers to the size, weight, diameter, and limit of the weight of Pahlavi coins, summarized in Table 2 below.
Other articles refer to the form, design, grade, finite grade (0.002), mintage monopoly, and the Ministry of Finance as its executor. Also in the note of this law is the change in the diameter of the quarter Pahlavi diameter from 14 mm to 16 mm. + Table- Properties of Pahlavi Coins in Mohammad Reza Shah eraSizePure Gold Weight (gram)Coin Weight (gram)Diameter (mm)Weight Uncertainty (gram)Weight unce. in Cor. LawCoinage DateTen 73.22382081.3650 -0.0021976- 1980Five36.61191040.68400.0020.0021960- 1980Two and Half18.30595520.34300.00250.00251959- 1979One7.3223828.13220.00250.0051941- 1980Half3.6611914.07190.0050.0051941-1980Quarter1.83059552.03160.0050.011953-1980Khosravi0.9152975 -140.0075 -Never
Correction of the gold coins law
The law, which legislated on 16 March 1976 in Majlis, dealt with increasing the uncertainty the coins weight of "two and half", "one", "half" and "quarter" Pahlavi, to license the coinage of "Ten Pahlavi" and add a phrase to license coinage of commemorative gold coins.
Pahlavi coins at Reza Shah's era These coins are divided into two types depending on the design, weight, and diameter of the coin.
Pahlavi coins of the first type
These coins are categorized into two types: Legend type and portrait type.
Legend type Pahlavi coins of Reza Shah
These coins include one, two, and five Pahlavi and only minted in 1926, and on both sides, they have the Qajar crown and oak and olive branches, and on the reverse, there is the symbolic lion and sun (coat of arms), which is very similar in this respect to Qajar gold Toman. The only difference is the inclusion of Reza Shah's title as "Reza Shah Pahlavi Shahanshah Iran"- in Persian legends: "رضا شاه پهلوی شاهنشاه ایران" on the coin and change the calendar from the Arabic/ Lunar to the Persian/ solar. These coins, especially the legend type five Pahlavi (with the mintage of 271 pieces), are among the scarce gold coins.
Portrait type Pahlavi Coins of Reza Shah
This series of coins that are also known as small hat are coins of one, two and five Pahlavi, and have significantly differed from the coins in terms of design, as the image of the three face of Reza Shah with the Pahlavi hat on the obverse and the title of "Reza Shah Pahlavi Shahanshah Iran" is placed above his head and in the form of a semicircle. On the reverse of the coin the image of the Qajar crown is replaced by the Pahlavi crown, the Lion and Sun omitted and the value covered all the central center.
Pahlavi coins of the second type
This type of Reza Shah Pahlavi coins includes "half" and "one Pahlavi" coins and different in the shape, weight and size with the coins of the first type. On the obverse, the left bust of Reza Shah and his title can be seen, while on the reverse the Lion and Sun and Oak and Olive leaves have been returned.
The second type coin of one Pahlavi with a weight of 8.131592 grams, is only minted in one year and in 304 pieces.
Pahlavi coins at the time of Mohammad Reza Shah
Mintage of these coins from the beginning to the accession of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi from 1941 to 1977, including coins of the quarter, half, one, two, and a half, five, and ten Pahlavi, and the last date of the coinage seen on them is 1979 (۱۳۵۸). The purpose of coinage with a date that has not yet been reached is to prepare the coins with the date of the day for distribution in the new year. Therefore, it can be assumed that Pahlavi coins dating back to 1979 (۱۳۵۸) after the 1979 revolution was illegally withdrawn from the mint. Also, the existence of coins with the Islamic-solar calendar after the changing of the calendar from the Islamic-solar to the Imperial/ Persian is very important because it suggests the fact that the regime of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi after the change of the calendar from the Islamic-Solar to imperial/ Persian and that confronted with religious opposition, despite the passing of three years since its launch, intended to restore the origin of the Islamic solar calendar.
Pahlavi gold coins of Mohammad Reza (legend)
The legend type gold coins of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi were minted from 1941 to 1945 and are included in two size: "half" and "one". The reverse of these coins are the same as Reza Shah the last series of one Pahlavi and only the mintage date is different and has been overprinted. On the obverse of them, there is the title of Shah and coinage date. So, they are the only gold coins of Iran that have two same dates on two sides. The coins of the years 1941 (۱۳۲۰) and 1942 (۱۳۲۱) coincided with the presence of the Allies in Iran, and maybe for this reason, they were minted at very low mintage, so that these coins are very rare. Half Pahlavi legend type has not minted in 1945 (۱۳۲۴).
Mohammad Reza Shah's Pahlavi coins
The coinage dates of these coins are 1945 (۱۳۲۴) to 1979 (۱۳۵۸) and are seen in "quarter" to "ten Pahlavi" sizes. Designation of them is the same as the end of Pahlavi rule except in commemorative coins. Half Pahlavi and One Pahlavi gold coins are in two types: "high relief" and "ordinary" Pahlavi coins.
High Relief Pahlavi Coins
These coins which minted from 1945 (۱۳۲۴) to 1951 (۱۳۳۰) have two sizes: "half" and "one" Pahlavi. The legends and images of these coins on two sides are not very fine and detailed which sometimes they are confused with fake coins. High relief half Pahlavi of 1951 (۱۳۳۰) is scarce.
Pahlavi gold coins (portrait)
These coins are in "quarter", "half", "one", "two and half", "five" and "ten" Pahlavi sizes.
Quarter Pahlavi
This coin, which was first mass-produced in 1953, was produced in two diameters: 14 and 16 mm. Quarter coins with a size of 14 mm have been minted from 1953 to 1957, and 16mm quarter coins dating from 1337 to 1358. Since 1974, with the addition of the word "Aryamehr"- "آریامهر" to the title of Shah, the term "Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi Aryamehr Shahanshah Iran"- "محمّدرضا شاه پهلوی آریامهر شاهنشاه ایران" was added to the coin. In 1977 and 1978, with the change of the official calendar of Iran from Solar calendar to Imperial calendar, the dates of these coins are ۲۵۳۶ and ۲۵۳۷, respectively.
The coin of the Quarter Pahlavi commemorating the coronation celebration in 1967 was minted by the year ۱۳۴۶. On the obverse of this coin, four digits of date as 26 October 1967 (۴۶ آبان) and the words "to the commemoration of the coronation"- in Persian: "بمیمنت جشن تاجگذاری" on the reverse. It has used the dies of Quarter Pahlavi coins of previous years for minting; thus this coin has a low coinage quality.
Thus, four editions of quarter Pahlavi have been minted during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah: the 14mm coin, the ordinary, the Aryamehr and the commemorative quarter Pahlavi.
Half Pahlavi Gold Coin
The flat (vs. high relief) type of this coin was first introduced to the market in 1951. This coin also has a variety of ordinary and Aryamehr, the first type is from 1951 (۱۳۳۰) to 1974 (۱۳۵۳) and the second type has been minted from 1975 (۱۳۵۴) to 1979 (۱۳۵۸). In the years 1977 and 1978, the date of coins are ۲۵۳۶ and ۲۵۳۷, respectively.
One Pahlavi Gold Coin