Iranian rial
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Iranian rial
ریال ایران (Persian)http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...-Iranmoney.jpghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...10000.rial.jpg20,000 rial banknote, reverse10,000 rial banknote, obverse and reverseISO 4217 CodeIRRUser(s)IranInflation15.8%SourceThe World Factbook, 2006 est.Superunit10toman
(unofficial)Subunit1/100dinarSymbolريالCoins50, 100, 250, 500 rialsBanknotes100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10 000, 20 000 rialsCentral bankBank Markazi IranWebsitewww.cbi.irThe rial (ریال in Persian; ISO 4217 code IRR) is the currency of Iran. It is subdivided into 100 dinar but, because of the very low current value of the rial, no fraction of the rial is used in accounting.
Although not an official currency since 1932, the toman is fequently used to express amounts of money. It enjoys wide usage among Iranians today as an amount of ten rial. Most Iranians state the value of things in toman - not rial. In fact, prices are currently most commonly marked in "toman", sometimes meaning 1000 or 1,000,000 toman (10,000 or 10,000,000 rial).
There is no official symbol for the currency but the Iranian standard ISIRI 820 defined a symbol for use on typewriters 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 for "RIAL SIGN" [﷼] at the position U+FDFC.
Contents
History
The rial was first introduced in 1798 as a coin worth 1250 dinar or one eighth of a toman. In 1825, the rial ceased to be issued, with the qiran of 1000 dinars (one tenth of a toman) being issued as part of a decimal system. The rial replaced the qiran at par in 1932, although it was divided into one hundred (new) dinars.
Value
In 1932, the exchange rate with the British pound was equal to that of the qiran, 1 pound = 59.75 qiran. This changed to 80.25 in 1936, 64.350 in 1939, 68.8 in 1940, 141 in 1941 and 129 in 1942. In 1945, Iran swiched to the U.S. dollar as the peg for its currency, with 1 dollar = 32.25 rial. The rate was changed to 1 dollar = 75.75 rial in 1957, a rate which was maintained until Iran did not follow the dollar's devaluation in 1973, leading to a new peg of 1 dollar = 68.725 rial. The peg to the U.S. dollar was dropped in 1975.
In 1979, 1 rial equaled to $0.0141. The value of Iran's currency has declined precipitously after the Islamic revolution.[1]. Whereas on 15 March 1978, 71.46 rials equaled one U.S. dollar, in July 1999, 9430 rials amounted to one dollar. However, the value of rial has become more stable since 1999 as the economy of Iran has been growing rapidly and independently. (See Iran Currency Exchange Rate History: 1975 - 2006).
Until 2002, Iran’s exchange rate system was based on a multi-layered system, where state and para-state enterprises benefited from the preferred rate (1750 rial for $1) while the private sector had to pay the market rate (8000 rial for $1), hence creating an unhealthy competition environment. However, in March 2002, the multi-tiered system was replaced by a unified, market-driven exchange rate.
Exchange rates: rials per US dollar - 9,246.94 (2006), 8,964 (2005), 8,885 (2004), 8,193.89 (2003), 6,906.96 (2002), 1,753.56 (2001), 1,764.43 (2000)
Coins
First rial
Silver coins were issued in denominations of ⅛, ¼, ½ and 1 rial.
Second rial
The first coins of the second rial currency were in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 25 dinar, ½, 1, 2 and 5 rial, with the ½ to 5 rial coins minted in silver. Gold coins denominated in pahlavi were also issued, initially valued at 100 rial. In 1944, the silver coinage was reduced in size, with the smallest silver coins being 1 rial pieces. This year also saw the cessation of minting of all denominations below 25 dinar. In 1945, silver 10 rial coins were introduced. In 1953, silver coins ceased to be minted, with the smallest denomination now 50 dinar. 20 rial 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 1980 and 50 rial coins were introduced in 1981. In 1993, a new coinage was introduced with smaller 1, 5, 10 and 50 rial coins and new 100 rial pieces. 250 rial coins were introduced the following year. In 2004, the sizes of the 50, 100 and 250 rial coins were reduced and 500 rial coins were introduced.
Coins currently in circulation are 50, 100, 250 and 500 rial. The 5 and 10 rials are still legal tender but are not issued anymore.
Banknotes
In 1932, notes were issued by the "Bank Melli Iran" in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 rial. 1000 rial notes were introduced in 1935, followed by 200 rial notes in 1951 and 5000 and 10,000 rial in 1952. 5 rial notes were last issued in the 1940s, with 10 rial 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 counterstamped with intricate designs to cover the Shah's face. The first regular issues of the Islamic Republic were in denominations of 100, 200, 500, 1000, 5000 and 10,000 rial. 2000 rial notes were introduced in 1986, with 20,000 rial notes added in 2003.
Banknotes currently in circulation are 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 and 20,000 rials. Portraits of Ruhollah Khomeini are found on the obverse of the 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 and 20,000 rials banknotes.
Cash Cheques
Currently the highest valued legal tender issued by the Central Bank is 20,000 rials (U.S$2.17). However, the Central Bank allows major state banks to print their own banknotes known as "Cash Cheques". They are a form of certified bearer-cheques with pre-determined amounts, printed in the form of official banknotes. Once they are acquired from banks, they work just like cash, however some stores may reject the higher value notes as they are not officially a legal tender. They are printed in 200,000, 500,000, 1,000,000, 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 rial values.[2]
Iranian rial - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
