Iranian banknotes for collectors — from Imperial Rial notes of the Shah era to Islamic Republic issues featuring mosques, revolutionary leaders, and ancient Persian monuments. With the March 2026 US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Iran’s retaliatory missile and drone strikes on Qatar, Dubai/UAE and Saudi Arabia—Iran is in the news like never before. Shop uncirculated and collectible Iranian currency at the World Money Store.

1971 gold standard and the Iranian rial

In 1971, Richard Nixon "broke" the Bretton Woods system, and ended the convertibility of US dollar currency into gold at the rate of $35 per ounce. In 1971, the Iranian rial was fixed to the US dollar, at a rate of ~76 rials per dollar and  ~2,650 rials per ounce of gold. Today, one US dollar buys more than 10,000 times as many Iranian rials as under the Shah in 1971.

Revaluation (RV), Redemption Center, Quantum (QFS) and Global Reset narratives

That infamous day of August 15, 1971, has since taken on an almost mythic quality—an “anchor point” before the current era, where currencies are backed only by the public's faith in the government. This anchor point is invoked in revaluation (RV) narratives that imagine a future global reset back to those early-1970s exchange relationships. Our store does not promote such narratives. World Money Store offers Iranian banknotes not as speculation, but as something rarer—history you can actually hold.

High-denomination Iranian Banknotes (Iran Cheques)

Iran has officially announced a revaluation (RV) of the Iranian rial. As part of this redomination, Iran's high-value banknotes (called "Iran Cheques") — issued in values of 500,000, 1,000,000, 2,000,000, and 5,000,000 Rials — are among the most talked-about notes in the world right now. These large-denomination notes will be directly affected by the official revaluation (Iranian Rial RV) i.e. redenomination and are being actively sought by collectors and observers of Iran's monetary transformation. We do not recommend speculation or investment in these products.

Why Collectors Are Watching the Iranian Rial Revaluation (RV)/ Redenomination

The Iranian government's definitive announcement of a revaluation (RV) i.e. redenomination has made these high-denomination cheques a focal point for numismatists and currency watchers worldwide. Whether you're collecting for historical significance, the spectacle of million-Rial denominations, or simply to own a piece of one of the most dramatic revaluations (RVs)/ redenominations in modern times, these notes represent a unique moment in Iranian—and global—financial history. We do not recommend investing or speculating in these collectible items.

Buy Iranian Banknotes

Iran's currency history spans two dramatically different eras: the Imperial era under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, whose notes featured the Peacock Throne, ancient Persepolis, and the Shah's portrait; and the Islamic Republic era from 1979 onward, whose notes replaced royal imagery with mosques, Ayatollah Khomeini, and revolutionary scenes.

Imperial Iran Banknotes (Pre-1979)

Shah-era Iranian Rial banknotes are prized for their striking imagery — the ruins of Persepolis, the Tomb of Cyrus the Great, the Golestan Palace, and portraits of the Shah himself.

Islamic Republic of Iran Banknotes (1979– )

Post-revolution Iranian banknotes feature Ayatollah Khomeini and Islamic architectural imagery — the Imam Reza Shrine, the Azadi Tower, and the tomb of Hafez; but also Persepolis. Issued across five decades of the Islamic Republic.

Why two denominations on one banknote? Is it 500 or 5 million?

Denominations are expressed in Rials and in Tomans. Historically, 1 toman = 10 rials, but on banknotes of 500,000 rials and above, 1 toman represents 10,000 rials. So 500 tomans x 10,000 = 5 million rials. 

Security Features Of Iranian Banknotes

Read about how to determine if your Iranian rial banknote is authentic

The connection with  Genghis Khan… and Siberia

The term toman goes all the way back to the Mongol Empire—in Mongolian a tümen was a unit of 10,000 soldiers—a a way of organizing the Mongol-controlled world: troops, taxation, populations. Genghis Khan launched initial shockwave attacks into Iran. He died in 1227, but a Mongol state, the Ilkhanate, ruled Iran from 1256–1335. The Siberian city of Tyumen, population 800,000, an oil and gas center, was founded by Tatar/Turkic khans, who had also borrowed the Mongolian word.