Islamic Republic of Iran (1979-date)
Top Left: Epigraphic 1 Rial, KM #1232 (CN) 18 mm, 1.73 g. (this specimen, others are as much as 1.8)
O: جمهوري
اسلامي ايران
ﯾﮏ ريال
(Islamic Republic of Iran/One Rial)R: denomination in a numeral and Rial written out and the date (1979)
۱۳۵۸
Top Right: 1 Rial, Jerusalem (Quds)Day/Ramadan 1400 issue 1980, KM #1245 (bronze clad steel) 20 mm, 2.49 g.
O: Dome of the Rock from Jerusalem, to the right of the dome the inscription is for "International Quds Day" and to the left the inscription reads "Ramadan Mubarak 1400",
۱۳۵۹
R: denomination above Rial, Islamic Republic of Iran above denomination and "Yawmal-Quds" written in Arabic beneath (Jerusalem Day) with tulips bordering either side. Bottom: 250 Rial, 1994 KM #1262 (bi-metallic CN center in brass ring) 28 mm, 10.7 g
O: anepigraphic depiction of stylized flower in wreath.
R: Islamic Republic of Iran above denomination and date ١٣٧٣ below.
The top two examples were obtained forty years ago from Iranian friends who acquired them on trips home in the years immediately following the 1979 Revolution. The most recent example was collected from a batch of world coins recently purchased. It was the first Iranian coin acquired this way in many years. As of the present time (4 Jan 2020) 42,029.96 Iranian Rials equal 1 USD. To understand the equivalent values of these coins when issued, in mid-1979 1 USD was equal to 121 Rials the following year it was 217 and in 1993 it was 1,610. (these are black market exchange rates from an article in Iranian Economic Review Vol 10 #14 (Fall 2005) entitled "History of the Rial and Foreign Exchange Policy in Iran" by Mohsen Bahmani-Oskooee.
