Middle East NE P-100a1 P-100 20 r 1974-1979 king UNC

Variety 1 (Pick # P-100a1) has, in contrast to variety 2, on the front in the center text:

• the Arabic letter ر (r) is inside the ram's head
• the Arabic letter ـسـ (s) looks like 3 distinct waves
• in the rightmost  ـيـ, the dots are almost aligned horizontally

Color: Brown on orange, lilac and multicolor underprint. 

Front:

• 8th portrait of the King as Army Commander in Chief
• carpet design
• shepherd
• ram

Back: Amir Kabir dam near Karaj

The Shepherd and Ram

This is not a narrative scene but a civilizational archetype. Shepherd figures belong to the deep Near Eastern world—Neolithic and early Bronze Age societies where identity was grounded in land, cycles, and continuity rather than heroic individualism.

The ram signals:

• fertility and seasonal renewal
• protective strength without aggression
• legitimate abundance rather than conquest

It’s a symbol of endurance, not spectacle. There’s no drama, anatomy, or mythic action. The figures are anonymous and timeless—closer to the relief tradition seen at sites like Реrsероlis, where images express order and inheritance rather than story.

In the 1970s, the country was asserting that its roots run deeper than empire, scripture, or Western classicism. The image quietly says: this civilization existed, sustained itself, and understood the land long before ideology. That’s why it feels ancestral rather than historical—outside time, by design.