Middle East NE P169 10000000 Rials 1000 Tomans ND (2026) UNC—Red—Adobe Mosque—Arg-e Bam Fortress

Iran's highest-denomination banknote to date — the 10,000,000-rial (1,000-toman) Iran Cheque — issued March 2026 featuring two of Iran's most iconic architectural landmarks.

Front

• Colors: red dominant; cream/off-white background; gold accents
• Jameh Mosque of Yazd — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the finest examples of Persian Islamic architecture
• Denomination: 1000 (tomans) / 10,000,000 rials
• Inscriptions in Persian: بانک مرکزی جمهوری اسلامی ایران (Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran); ایران چک (Iran Cheque); مدیر کل (General Director)
• Signatures: Gov. of Central Bank of Iran / General Director

Back

• Colors: red dominant; cream/off-white background; gold accents
• Arg-e Bam Fortress, Bam, Kerman Province — the world's largest adobe structure, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Inscriptions in Latin: CENTRAL BANK OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN; IRAN CHEQUE; 10000000; TEN MILLION RIALS; 1000

Other Characteristics

• Varieties: P-169 — this note
• Catalog Numbers: P-169; TBB B305; Numista N#563646
• Composition: Paper
• Size: rectangular
• Issuing Entity: Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran (بانک مرکزی جمهوری اسلامی ايران)
• Printer: Security Paper Mill (کارخانه تولید کاغذ اسناد بهادار, TAKAB), Āmol, Iran (2002–date)
• Issued: 3 March 2026
• Demonetized: No
• Currency: Second Rial (1932–date); colloquially quoted in tomans (1 toman = 10 rials)
• Official Language: Persian (Farsi)

About Iran

• Origin of Name: from "Aryānām" — land of the Aryans — the ancient Indo-Iranian peoples who settled the plateau
• Capital: Tehran (city pop. ~9.5 million; metro ~16 million)
  • Origin of Name: possibly from Old Persian "tah" (bottom/warm) + "ran" (slope) — referring to its position at the foot of the Alborz Mountains
• Population: ~90 million (UN 2024) — similar to Germany or California and Texas combined
• Area: 1,648,195 km² (636,372 mi²) — similar to Alaska, or Western Europe combined
• GDP per Capita (PPP): ~$16,000 (IMF 2024)
• Main Exports: crude oil, natural gas, petrochemicals, pistachios, carpets, saffron
• Borders: Turkey, Iraq, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan; Caspian Sea (north); Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman (south)
• Official/Spoken Languages: Persian (Farsi) — official; also Azerbaijani, Kurdish, Gilaki, Mazandarani, Arabic, Balochi
• Ethnicities: Persians (~61%), Azerbaijanis (~16%), Kurds (~10%), Lurs (~6%), Arabs (~2%), Baloch (~2%), others
• Memberships: UN (founding member, 1945); OPEC (founding member, 1960); OIC (founding member, 1969); SCO (2023); BRICS (2024)
• Sovereignty:
  • Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC) — first Persian empire; conquered by Alexander the Great
  • Parthian and Sasanian empires (247 BC–651 AD)
  • Arab-Islamic conquest (651) — Islam replaces Zoroastrianism as the dominant religion
  • Various dynasties: Safavids (1501–1736), Afsharids, Zands, Qajars (1789–1925)
  • Pahlavi dynasty (1925–1979) — modernizing monarchy; heavy British and US influence
  • Islamic Revolution (1979) — Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi overthrown; Ayatollah Khomeini establishes the Islamic Republic
  • Islamic Republic of Iran (1979–date) — this note issued during this period

The World's Highest-Denomination Note in Circulation

At 10,000,000 rials — or 1,000 tomans in everyday Iranian speech — this Iran Cheque represents the apex of Iran's ongoing battle with inflation. The rial has lost staggering value over decades of sanctions and economic pressure: what once bought a house now barely covers a meal. The Iran Cheque series was introduced precisely because carrying physical cash in meaningful amounts had become impractical — a stark illustration of one of the world's most dramatic currency devaluations.

Two UNESCO World Heritage Sites on One Note

The design pairs two of Iran's most celebrated architectural achievements. The Jameh Mosque of Yazd on the obverse is a masterpiece of Persian Islamic architecture, its twin minarets soaring above the ancient desert city — Yazd itself is a UNESCO city. On the reverse, the Arg-e Bam Fortress in Kerman Province is the world's largest adobe structure, a 2,000-year-old citadel that survived until the devastating 2003 earthquake and has since been painstakingly restored. Both sites carry UNESCO World Heritage status, making this note a remarkable double tribute to Persian civilization.

Iran's Redenomination Saga

Iran has been debating and delaying a currency redenomination for years — officially replacing the rial with the toman at a 10,000:1 ratio. This note, denominated in both rials (10,000,000) and tomans (1,000), sits squarely in that transitional moment. The "Transitional series" label is not incidental — it signals that Iran's monetary system is mid-transformation. Whether the full redenomination completes or stalls again, this note will stand as a document of that pivotal period.

Own this note and hold a piece of Iran's monetary history at its most dramatic inflection point — the world's highest-denomination note in active circulation, bearing two UNESCO landmarks, issued at the dawn of a currency redenomination.