The official currency of Iran is the local rial. It consists of one hundred dinars, but this unit has recently been practically not used. This is due to the high level of devaluation of the national currency. In the global financial system, the Iranian rial has received the designation IRR, code 364, and in Iran - IR. At the moment, are in circulation denominations of ten thousand, five thousand, two thousand, one thousand, two hundred and one hundred. In addition, two hundred fifty, one hundred, fifty, twenty, ten and five coins are used.
History of Iranian Rial
The rial was the official currency symbol of Persia from 1798 to 1825. In Iran, this currency began to be used in 1932. From then until now, the Iranian rial has been the national currency of this state. Before the implementation of the reform of the monetary system in Iran in 1932, the official currency was fog, which equates to ten thousand dinars. It should be noted that even after almost 90 years, prices for most of the goods and services are indicated precisely in fogs. Often this fact is confusing for many tourists visiting this country.
Immediately after the introduction of the rial as a currency in Persia (present-day Iran), coins were used in circulation that were equal to 1250 dinars and accounted for 1/8 of the fog. In 1825, the issue of rial was stopped in Persia, and the main currency was fog, which remained so until 1932.
Rial money circulation stages
After the rial was introduced as an official unit in 1932, Bank Melli Iran issued five, ten, twenty, fifty, one hundred, and five hundred denominations in denominations. One thousand denominations appeared in circulation in 1935. After 16 years, the Iranian leadership decided to introduce a banknote of two hundred rials in value, and in 1952 five and ten thousand bills appeared. The gradual devaluation and inflation of the national currency made it necessary to abandon the use of certain small denominations of banknotes.
So, in 1940, the Central Bank of Iran withdrew five riyals from a banknote of denomination, and in 1960 a banknote of ten. Since 1993, the Iranian rial has become an almost fully convertible currency. It should be noted that the long-standing trade embargo and sanctions on the part of Western developed countries against Iran led to a significant devaluation and depreciation of the national currency.
Appearance of banknotes
Throughout its history, the Iranian rial has changed its appearance several times. By the way, it will be emphasized that old bills issued between 1982 and 1989 still take part in circulation and are withdrawn from use as they wear out. The obverse of almost all banknotes contains an image of a portrait of Ayatollah Khomeini. Exceptions are denominations of one hundred, two hundred and five hundred rials. It should be noted that there is no date of issue on the notes of the Iranian rial. Another important feature of this currency is the extremely low level of protection against counterfeiting.
In the period from 1932 to 1943, the image of the first Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty, Reza Pahlavi, was applied to all Iranian rials. His portrait was on the front side of banknotes. In the period from 1944 to 1979, on the obverse of the rials was depicted the second shah of the Pahlavi dynasty, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. It should be noted that the portraits of the 35th and last Shah of Iran on banknotes first grew up and matured, and then grew old together with the ruler himself.
Change in the appearance of banknotes after the victory of the revolution
In 1979, revolutionaries led by Ayatollah Khomeini won in Iran. The monetary reform was not long in coming. Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was hated by the new government, and she would gladly replace all the banknotes with his image. But the problem was that there were too many 1974 banknotes issued at the Central Bank. Each such banknote contained an image of the ousted shah.
In order not to withdraw the bills from circulation, and at the same time get rid of the image of the former monarch, it was decided to use the so-called “seal”. It consisted of drawing on the portrait of the shah and the watermark of red crosses. Since 1980, the image of Pahlavi began to be closed with the help of the original black drawing, repeating the contour of the portrait of the monarch.
Currency Exchange in Iran
To date, there should be no difficulty in exchanging currencies in Iran. Tourists and travelers at the country's airports, hotels, banking institutions and specialized exchange points can buy Iranian rial. The rate at official points of sale of foreign currency may differ from offers in stores or on the street at local money changers. True, such operations are not legal, but there are no penalties for such actions.
The most popular for the exchange of world currencies in Iran are British pounds , euros and US dollars. Other monetary units will be more difficult to exchange. This also applies to the currencies of those states that are Iran’s neighbors. Banking institutions, as a rule, work from Saturday to Wednesday from 8:00 in the morning until 15:00 or 16:00 of the day. Some offices can provide financial services until 20:00 pm. It is worth noting that plastic bank cards are practically not used in Iran, so it is better to have cash with you.
It should also be emphasized that euros, US dollars and British pounds can be accepted for payment in the tourist regions of the country. In the remote corners of Iran, even this foreign currency will be of little interest to anyone. In addition, it should be noted that the exchange rate of street vendors has changed, in markets and in stores it is often much more profitable than the official one. But in carrying out such risky operations, one should remember the likelihood of becoming a victim of scammers who can skillfully take advantage of the low degree of protection of the Iranian rial and simply use fake money for exchange.
Iranian rial course
The Iranian rial to the ruble has a rate of 543.71: 1. That is, for one Russian ruble you can get 543.71 Iranian rials. The Iranian rial to ruble exchange rate has recently become increasingly profitable, the national currency of this country is constantly becoming cheaper. But it is much more profitable for a tourist to have dollars with them. The Iranian rial against the dollar looks even more impressive. The reason for this is the permanent devaluation of the local currency. So, for one US dollar, you can get 32375.33 rial. The Iranian rial to euro exchange rate has the following: 1 EUR equals 34833.38 IRR.