Iranian rial
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Iranian rial ریال ایران (Persian) |
|
| ISO 4217 Code | IRR |
|---|---|
| User(s) | Iran |
| Inflation | 17% |
| Source | The World Factbook, July 2007 est. |
| Superunit | |
| 10 | toman (unofficial) |
| Subunit | |
| 1/100 | dinar |
| Symbol | ﷼ |
| Coins | 50, 100, 250, 500 rials |
| Banknotes | 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10 000, 20 000, 50 000 rials |
| Central bank | Central Bank of Iran |
| Website | www.cbi.ir |
The 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 (ten rial) is frequently used to express amounts of money. Prices are currently most commonly marked in toman, sometimes meaning 1,000 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 (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 for "RIAL SIGN" [﷼] at the position U+FDFC.[1]
Contents |
[edit] 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.
Prior to decimalisation in 1932, these coins and currencies were used, and some of these terms still have wide usage in Iranian languages and proverbs:[2]
| Old currency | In dinar | First issue |
|---|---|---|
| shahi | 50 dinar | Samanid dynasty |
| mahmoudi (sannar) | 100 dinar | Sultan Mahmoud |
| abbasi | 200 dinar | Shah Abbas I |
| naderi (da-shahi) | 500 dinar | Nader Shah |
| qiran | 1000 dinar | Fath Ali Shah (1825) |
| rial | 1250 dinar | Fath Ali Shah (1798) |
| dozari | 2000 dinar | Qajar dynasty |
| panjzari | 5000 dinar | Qajar dynasty |
| toman | 10000 dinar | Ilkhanate |
[edit] Value
In 1932, the exchange rate with the British pound was 1 pound = 59.75 rial. 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 switched 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. 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 $0.0141. The value of Iran's currency declined precipitously after the Islamic revolution because of capital flight from the country.[3][4]. 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 the rial has become more stable since 1999, as the economy of Iran has been growing rapidly and away from the dollar zone. (See Iran Currency Exchange Rate History: 1975 - 2007).
[edit] Exchange rate system
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 unequal 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)
- Pre-unification, Rials per US dollar:
Market: 8,200 (2002), 8,050 (2001), 8,350 (2000)[5]
Preferred: 6,906.96 (2002), 1,753.56 (2001), 1,764.43 (2000)[6]
[edit] Redenomination
Because of the current low value of rial, and that people rarely use the term, redenomination or change of currency was first proposed in the late 1980s. The issue has re-emerged and been under discussion, as a result of issuance of larger banknotes in 2003. Opponents of redenomination are wary of more inflation resulting from psychological effects, and increase in velocity of money leading to more instabilities in the economy of Iran.[7][8]
On April 12, 2007, the Economics Commission of the Parliament announced initiation of a statute in draft to change the currency, claiming redenominations has helped reduce inflation elsewhere, such as in Turkey.[9]
[edit] Coins
[edit] First rial
Silver coins were issued in denominations of ⅛, ¼, ½ and 1 rial.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 counter-stamped 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.
[edit] Issuance of larger notes
Printing banknotes larger than 10,000 rials was first proposed in 1989, and in 1992 the central bank asked for government permission to print 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000 rial notes. This was not realized at that time, due to fears of inflation and counterfeiting.[7] 10,000 rial note remained the highest valued note for more than 50 years, until 2003 when 20,000 rial notes were added.
On 4 March 2007, it was announced that Iran would issue a 50,000 rial banknote with the subject being the Iranian nuclear energy program. The note was issued on 12 March.[10][11] The note features a quote by Mohammed, translated as: "Even if science is at the Pleiades, some men from the land of Persia would attain it".[12] The note also features the English term: "Persian Gulf", a reference to Persian Gulf naming dispute. (See specimen)
Banknotes currently in circulation are 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000 rials. Portraits of Ruhollah Khomeini are found on the obverse of 1000 rial banknote and greater.
[edit] Cash cheques
Currently the highest valued legal tender issued by the central bank is 50,000 rials (about U.S$5.40 in 2007). However, the central bank allows major state banks to print their own banknotes known as "cash cheques" (Persian: چک مسافرتی chekpul). They are a form of bearer teller's-cheque with fixed amounts, printed in the form of official banknotes. Once they are acquired from banks, they function like cash for a year, however stores may reject higher value notes. Two forms of these banknotes are available. One known as "Iran cheque" can be cashed in any financial institution, while the other must be cashed at the issuing bank. They are printed in 200,000, 500,000, 1,000,000, 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 rial values.[13][14][15]
| Use Yahoo! Finance: | AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
| Use XE.com: | AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
| Use OANDA.com: | AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ For the proposal, see Pournader, Roozbeh (2001-09-20). Proposal to add Arabic Currency Sign Rial to the UCS (PDF). It proposes the character under the name of ARABIC CURRENCY SIGN RIAL, which was changed by the standard committees to RIAL SIGN.
- ^ "تاريخچه پول در ايران", BBC News Persian, 2007-02-24. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. (Persian)
- ^ Publications
- ^ Nader Habibi (2003-07-09). Iran's Exchage Rate Freeze: Is it Appropriate? Is it sustainable?. Retrieved on 2007-06-13.
- ^ Iranian Currency Exchange Rate - Money Exchange in US, Europe & Canada - Iranian Currency Exchange Rate History, Iran Curency System, Iranian Currency History
- ^ CIA factbook
- ^ a b روزنامه سرمايه85/12/14: مدير كل نشر اسكناس بانك مركزي : رشد نقدينگي اسكناس درشت تر مي طلبد
- ^ [1] [2]
- ^ [3][4]
- ^ http://www.nachthund.biz/CatalogUpdate/Iran/IranIndex.html Accessed 05/03/2007
- ^ 5 هزار تومانی از پس فردا در دست مردم
- ^ BBCPersian.com
- ^ CBI
- ^ BMI
- ^ http://www.bankrefah.ir/en/aboutus/currency/cheque5mr.asp Bank Refah
[edit] External links
- Don's World Coin Gallery - Iran
- Ron Wise's World Paper Money - Iran Mirror site
- Tables of Modern Monetary Systems by Kurt Schuler - Asia Mirror site
- The Global History of Currencies - Iran
- Global Financial Data data series - Iran Rial
- Global Financial Data currency histories table (
Microsoft Excel format)
- Iran travel guide from Wikitravel (information on currency exchange and credit card payment)
|
||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
