Iran Currency

Contents

Iran Currency

Introduction

As you may already know Rial is the currency of Iran. Despite the fact that Toman is not an official unit of the Iranian currency, Iranians often express the amount of money and the prices in Tomans. For Instance, 30 Rials equals 3 Tomans. However, the price tag on a stack of apples might express 80000 Rials, but when you ask the shopkeeper he/she would say 8000 Tomans.

The Rials was initially introduced in 1798 as a coin worth 1,250 dinars or 1/8 of a toman. In the year 1825, Qiran replaced Rial which was subdivided into 20 Shahis and was worth 1000 Dinars, and 1/10 of a Toman. In 1932 Rial replaced Qiran, subdivided into 2 Shahis or 100 Dinars.

Before the Decimalisation in the year 1932, these currencies and coins were commonly used and the terms associated with the currencies still are used in Iranian sayings and proverbs.

Coin and Paper Money

 

Coins

1. Old Rial

In the late 18th century and early 19th century, Rial was issued in 1, ½, ¼, 1/8 coins made of silver.

2. Modern Rial

In 1932 the second coins of the Rial Currency were issued in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, and 25 Dinars and ½, 1, 2, 5 Rials. The ½ to 5 Rials was minted in silver. Gold coins were also issued in the Pahlavi Era and were worth 100 Rials.

In 1944, silver coins became smaller in size and the smallest silver coin had 1 Rial value. The minting of coins with the value of fewer than 25 Dinars stopped that year. In 1945, 10 Rial coins were first introduced. Later in 1953, the minting of silver coins ended, with 50 dinars being the smallest denomination. In 1972, 20 Rial Coins were introduced.

After the Islamic Revolution, the designs of the coins changed in order to remove Shah’s face. But the coin sizes still remained the same. In 1979 50dinar coins were minted and in 1980 the 50 Rial coins were introduced. In 1992, the officials introduced smaller 1, 5, 10, and 50 Rial coins plus a new 100 Rial coin. Next year they introduced 250 Rial coins and in 2004 the 50, 100, 250 Rial coins became smaller in size and 500 Rial coins were presented. In 2009, yet smaller types of 250 and 500 Rials were introduced plus a new 1000 Rials piece. In 2010, 2000 and 5000 Rial coins were presented.

 

Bills

‘Bank Melli Iran’ issued denominations of 5, 10, 50, 100, and 500 Rial bills in 1932. In 1935, they introduced 1000 Rial bills, and later they introduced 200 Rial bills in the year 1951 and 5000 and 10,000 Rials in the following year. However, 5 Rial notes ceased to be printed in the 1940s and 10 Rial notes disappeared in the 1960s. In 1961, the issuing of paper money was assigned to the Central Bank of Iran.

After the Islamic Revolution, in 1979, the bills with Shah’s face were counter-stamped in order to cover Shah’s face. The banknotes after the Islamic Revolution were in 100, 200, 1000, 5000, 10,000 Rial bills. In 1986, they presented 2000 Rial bills.

All of these bills bear the signature of the President of Iran’s Central Bank. The 100, 200, 500 bills are not commonly used these days and now people bear 100,000 Rial bills inside their wallets. Below are the scanned images of Iranian banknotes:

Qajar Era, 1850-1925

1-toman-bill
1 Toman Bill

5 toman bill
5 Toman Bill

 

50 toman bill
50 toman bill

 

Reza Shah, 1925-1960

5 Rial Bill
5 Rial Bill

 

10 Rial Bill
10 Rial Bill

 

20 Rial Bill
20 Rial Bill

 

500 Rial Bill
500 Rial Bill

 

1000 Rial Bill
1000 Rial Bill

 

Mohammadreza Shah, 1960–1980

10-rial-Bill
10 Rial Bill

 

10-rial-Bill
10 Rial Bill

 

10-rial-Bill
10 Rial Bill

 

20-rial-Bill
20 Rial Bill

 

50-rial-Bill
50 Rial Bill

 

50-rial-Bill
50 Rial Bill

 

100-rial-Bill
100 Rial Bill

 

100-rial-Bill
100 Rial Bill

 

100-rial-Bill
100 Rial Bill

 

200-rial-Bill
200 Rial Bill

 

1000-rial-Bill
1000 Rial Bill

 

Islamic Revolution, 1981-1985

100 Rial Bill
100 Rial Bill

 

200 Rial Bill
200 Rial Bill

 

500 Rial Bill
500 Rial Bill

 

1000 Rial Bill
1000 Rial Bill

 

2000 Rial Bill
2000 Rial Bill

 

5000 Rial Bill
5000 Rial Bill

 

10000 Rial Bill
10000 Rial Bill

 

Current Banknotes

1000 Rial Bill
1000 Rial Bill

 

2000 Rial Bill
2000 Rial Bill

 

5000 Rial Bill
5000 Rial Bill

 

5000 Rial Bill
5000 Rial Bill

 

10000 Rial Bill
10000 Rial Bill

 

20000 Rial Bill
20000 Rial Bill

 

20000 Rial Bill
20000 Rial Bill

 

20000 Rial Bill
20000 Rial Bill

 

50000 Rial Bill
50000 Rial Bill

 

50000 Rial Bill
50000 Rial Bill

 

100000 Rial Bill
100000 Rial Bill

 

Issuing Larger Bills

In 1989, it was proposed that the Central Bank should issue banknotes larger than 10,000 Rials. Eventually, in 1992 the Central Bank requested the government’s permission to print 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000Rial bills; though the permission was not granted due to the probable increase of inflation and counterfeiting. The 10,000 Rials banknote remained as the largest banknote for 50 years until 2005. Then 20,000 Rial and subsequently 50,000 Rial bills were introduced with designs related to the nuclear energy program. The banknote finally was presented on March 12. On the note, you can see a quote by Prophet Mohammad saying: “Even if the knowledge is at the Pleiades, Persian people would attain it”.

The bills that are in circulation are 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000 Rials. After the death of Imam Khomeini, his portraits were printed on the new bills.

Large Cash Cheques

Currently, 500,000 Rial and 1,000,000 Rial Cheques are used very often and circulate freely throughout Iran. The Central Bank used to permit some of the major state banks to issue their own Cash Cheques. They were a sort of bearer-teller’s-cheque presented with fixed amounts, issued and used as official banknotes. After acquiring these notes from the bank they could function as cash for a year. There were two types of banknotes. One of them was Iran Cheque that could be cashed in all financial establishments. The other one could be cashed at the bank which the Cheque was issued. These Cheques could be issued in 200,000, 500,000, 1,000,000, 2,000,000, and 5,000,000 Rial notes.

Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran revoked this feature and currently issues Cheques known as ‘Iran Cheques’ in denominations of 500,000 and 1,000,000 Rials.

Money Exchange

To exchange your money you can go to banks which have an ‘Exchange’ sign on their entrance. There are also exchange offices at the airports and also Tourist districts; so, you can refer to one of these spots in order to change your money. These offices are called ‘Sarrafi’ in Persian which means ‘money exchanger’. In tourist areas, you can also see some people shouting the names of currencies. They exchange money in the black market. We recommend not using this option and instead referring to the nearest currency exchange office or going to certain authorized banks. Using major international credit cards is not recommended because of the sanctions imposed on the Iranian government. We suggest using cash or communicating with a reliable travel agency that provides credit card services. It is important to note that you can change major currencies like USD, EUR, GBP, AED almost everywhere; but for other currencies, you may need to refer to certain banks. You can also use Travellers Cheques at some hotels, offices, and shops but it is not a reliable way of bringing money to Iran. Regarding these points, we can conclude that it is better to bring major currencies such as USD, EUR, GBP in cash when you want to travel to Iran.

Money Export and Import Regulations

  • Import and export of Up to 500,000 Rials are permissible.
  • Import of foreign currencies in any amount is authorized.
  • Export and import of Emirates Dirhams, Iraqi Dinars, Syrian Pounds, Arabian Rials, Lebanese Pounds, and Afghanis are not allowed by the passengers or commercially. In case of having these currencies at the time of entry, he/she has to fill an exchange declaration in order to avoid any difficulties at the time of exit.
  • Export of foreign currencies as banknotes or traveler cheques is only authorized up to 1,000 US dollars. The passenger can also take an equivalent amount. In the case of traveling by a group, each individual can export up to 500 US dollars.

Useful Information

The Central bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran announces the value of the currencies every day. The district of Ferdowsi Street up to Ferdowsi Square also has many exchange offices which you can go and check the value. Some of these offices are Arad, Melli, Bazarian, Etemad, and Olympic Currency Exchange Offices. Yet there is another option available and that is referring to the exchange office on the second floor of Imam Khomeini Airport (IKA) in order to change your money or check the values.

Find Exchange Offices Nearby

Tehran

Tehran Exchange

Address: Tehran Province, Tehran, Sattar Khan

Iranian exchange

Address: District 12, Tehran, Tehran Province

Arz Iran Exchange Office

Address: Tehran, Mirdamad Blvd

Sarafi MoneyMex Iran

Address: Tehran Province, Tehran, Mirdamad Blvd

Pooya Exchange

Address: Tehran Province, Tehran, N Kargar

Valiasr Exchange

Address: Tehran Province, Tehran, District 3, Valiasr St

Currency exchange Cooperative Development Company

Address: Tehran Province, Tehran, Enghelab St

Royal Exchange

Address: Tehran Province, Tehran, District 2, Iran Zamin Blvd

Olympic Exchange

Address: Tehran, Ferdowsi Ave

Bitbarg

Address: Tehran Province, Tehran, Ferdowsi Ave, No. 252, Iran

Arg Exchange

Address: Tehran Province, Tehran, Ferdowsi Ave

Razavi Exchange

Address: Tehran Province, Tehran, Ferdowsi Ave

 

Isfahan

Siavash Exchange

Address: Isfahan Province, Isfahan, First Apadana Street

Aval Money Exchange

Address: Isfahan Province, Isfahan, Tohid St

Arz Currency Exchange

Address: Isfahan Province, Isfahan, Mir Fendereski Street

 

Shiraz

Shiraz Exchange

Address: Fars Province, Shiraz, Saadi St

Eskordi Exchange

Address: Taleqani, Shiraz, Fars province

Mirza-ie Money Exchange

Address: Moali’Abad Blvd, Shiraz, Fars Province

Sadoon Currency Exchange Service

Address: 36th alley, Karim Khan Zand Blvd, Shiraz, Fars Province

Alizadeh Exchange

Address: Fars Province, Shiraz, District 6, Mali Abad Blvd

Larestan Currency Exchange

Address: Fars Province, Shiraz, Saadi St

Zand Exchange

Address: Fars Province, Shiraz, Saadi St

 

Yazd

Exchange Pour Haji Hadad

Address: Kashani St, Yazd, Yazd Province

Isatis Exchange Shop

Address: Kashani St, Yazd, Yazd Province

Amiran Exchange

Address: Shahid Rajaei St, Yazd, Yazd Province

 

Tabriz

Aghazade Exchange

Address: East Azerbaijan Province, Tabriz, Bazar, New Amir

Valiasr Exchange

Address: Valiasr, Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province

Javad Kamali Exchange

Address: Bazaar, Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province

AMIN EXCHANGE

Address: 29 Bahman Boulevard, Southern Valieasr, Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province

Kobari Exchange

Address: East Azerbaijan Province, Soufian, Tabriz-Marand Rd

Mashhad

Jan Nesar Exchange

Address: Razavi Khorasan Province, Mashhad, Andarzgoo St, No. 334

Sepehri Exchange

Address: Razavi Khorasan Province, Mashhad, Pasdaran Avenue

Arz Exchange

Address: Razavi Khorasan Province, Mashhad, Sanabad Street

Nazeran Exchange

Address: Razavi Khorasan Province, Mashhad, District 1, Reza Boulevard

Mehr Exchange Mashhad

Address: Mashhad, Western Golestan

Exchange Sadat Hosseini

Address: Razavi Khorasan Province, Mashhad, Holy Shrine

Taj Exchange

Address: Razavi Khorasan Province, Mashhad, Pasdaran Avenue

Mohsen Exchange Company

Address: Razavi Khorasan Province, Mashhad, Emam Khomeini Street

Tipping in Iran

Tipping in Iran is not very common. In upscale restaurants especially in Tehran, a 10 percent tip might be expected but anywhere else any money you leave in gratuity may be a pleasant surprise. It is absolutely normal to give a small tip to the waiter or the doorman. If the person refuses to take the tip you should try a couple of times and he/she may take it after all!

Iranian Currency Tips

As we mentioned before, the prices might be in Rials but people usually say the price in Tomans. 600,000 Rials is actually 60,000 Tomans so be careful not to pay the price 10 times more. The Toman is not an official currency unit but maybe it is the Iranian way of getting rid of one zero!

Bills are widely used but using local credit cards is on the rise these days as many people use credit cards in daily deals and transactions.

Different types of paper money are used in the everyday lives of people such as 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000 Rials. But these bills are not appropriate for large transactions since they take a lot of space and maybe not safe to carry around.

Today you are able to carry bills with larger amounts called Cash Cheques in denominations of 500,000 and 1,000,000 Rials specifically designed to fill this gap.

Visa and Mastercard

Major international credit cards cannot be used in Iran since the United States trade embargo. Passengers cannot draw cash on bank cards such as Cirrus or Maestro.

There are a lot of ATMs in Iran but only for local transactions and for you in order to carry your money around safely, you need to contact a reliable travel agency.

 

About Our Services

Terms of Payment

  • In case you are interested in booking one of our tours, you can pay it online or
  • Pay 30% of the price of the package and pay the rest by cash after your arrival or
  • Deposit the amount to our bank account

Credit Card

As we mentioned before you cannot use major international credit cards in Iran due to the sanctions. Instead, you can use a local credit card which we can provide for you. This could be done by contacting our company.

 

You can also read: Iran Visa, Iran Visa for IndiansIran Visa fee from PakistanIran Visa for the US, Canada, and UK citizens

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