100 IRR #636

Front

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1902–1989), Supreme Leader of Iran and founder of the Islamic Republic following the 1979 revolution. He appears on the first post-revolutionary banknote series issued by the newly established Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, replacing the portraits of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. The note features Islamic architectural elements including a mihrab arch and geometric rosette pattern, reflecting the new theocratic government's emphasis on Islamic symbolism in state iconography.

Back

The Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran building in Tehran, the headquarters of the newly reorganized central banking authority established after the 1979 revolution. The modernist multi-story structure represents the administrative continuity of Iranian monetary policy under the new government. The architectural rendering emphasizes the functional, institutional nature of the Islamic Republic's financial system.

History

This 100 rials note belongs to the first series of banknotes issued by the Islamic Republic of Iran following the 1979 revolution. The Central Bank of Iran was reorganized as the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and all currency was redesigned to remove images of the deposed Shah and replace them with Ayatollah Khomeini and Islamic motifs. This series was issued between approximately 1979 and 1985, when it was replaced by updated designs. The denomination '100 rials' (صد ریال) is printed in Persian script. No specific printed year is visible on this note, and the series predates the widespread use of Western numerals on Iranian currency. The serial number format and design style are consistent with early post-revolutionary issues (P-140). These notes circulated during a period of significant economic disruption caused by the revolution, the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), and international sanctions.