The rial (Persian: ریال ایران, romanized: riyâl-è Irân; sign: Rls. or IR in Latin, ﷼ in Persian; code: IRR) is the official currency of Iran.
There is no official symbol for the currency but the Iranian standard ISIRI 820 defined a symbol for use on typewriters (mentioning that it is an invention of the standards committee itself) and the two Iranian standards ISIRI 2900 and ISIRI 3342 define a character code to be used for it. The Unicode Standard has a compatibility character defined U+FDFC ﷼ RIAL SIGN.
A proposal has been agreed to by the Iranian parliament to drop four zeros, by replacing the rial with a new currency called the toman, the name of a previous Iranian currency, at the rate of one toman = 10,000 rials. This change is expected to take place between 2020 and 2022.
IRR Coins
During the late 18th and early 19th century, silver coins were issued in denominations of 1⁄8, 1⁄4, 1⁄2 and 1 rial.
The first coins of the second rial currency, introduced in 1932, were in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 25 dinars, Rls.1⁄2, Rls.1, Rls.2 and Rls.5, with the Rls.1⁄2 to Rls.5 coins minted in silver. Gold coins denominated in pahlavi were also issued, initially valued at Rls.100. In 1944, the silver coinage was reduced in size, with the smallest silver coins being 1 rial pieces. Minting of all denominations below 25 dinars ended in this year. In 1945, silver Rls.10 coins were introduced. In 1953, silver coins ceased to be minted, with the smallest denomination now 50 dinars. Rls.20 coins were introduced in 1972.
After the Islamic Revolution, the coinage designs were changed to remove the Shah’s effigy but the sizes and compositions were not immediately changed. 50 dinar coins were only minted in 1979 and Rls.50 coins were introduced in 1980. In 1992, a new coinage was introduced with smaller Rls.1, Rls.5, Rls.10 and Rls.50 coins and new Rls.100 pieces. Rls.250 coins were introduced the following year. In 2004, the sizes of the Rls.50, Rls.100 and Rls.250 coins were reduced and Rls.500 coins were introduced. New, smaller types of Rls.250 and Rls.500 were introduced in 2009, along with the new denomination of Rls.1,000. Rls.2,000 and Rls.5,000 rial coins were introduced in 2010.
IRR Banknotes
In 1932, notes were issued by the “Bank Melli Iran” in denominations of Rls.5, Rls.10, Rls.20, Rls.50, Rls.100 and Rls.500. Rls.1,000 notes were introduced in 1935, followed by Rls.200 notes in 1951 and Rls.5,000 and Rls.10,000 in 1952. Rls.5 notes were last issued in the 1940s, with Rls.10 notes disappearing in the 1960s. In 1961, the Central Bank of Iran took over the issuance of paper money.
In 1979, after the Islamic revolution, Iranian banknotes featuring the Shah’s face were counter-stamped with intricate designs to cover the Shah’s face. The first regular issues of the Islamic Republic were in denominations of Rls.100, Rls.200, Rls.500, Rls.1,000, Rls.5,000 and Rls.10,000. Rls.2,000 rial notes were introduced in 1986.
They are issued by the Central Bank of Iran, each bearing the signature of the President of the Iranian Central Bank. The Rls.100, Rls.200 and Rls.500 banknotes are becoming increasingly uncommon; shopkeepers habitually give out small packages of gum in lieu of the last Rls.500 of change. For day to day means people will carry wads of Rls.100,000 notes.