Iran - Islamic Republic 50 Dinars - 1979

April 2024

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This brass clad or plated steel 50 Dinars was only struck during a portion of 1979. A very similar coin was struck in the first part of 1979 under the Shah Reza Pahlavi.
The Iranian Revolution, also known as the Islamic Revolution or the 1979 Revolution was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and the replacement of his government with an Islamic republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The Islamic state forbids depiction of people and animals, on their coins particularly. So it's a wonder that this coin under the Islamic state was struck at all. Thereafter, up to the present, only Rials are minted. To tell the truth I'm still not certain you can tell the difference but I purchased this as and Islamic Republic coin. One is described as brass clad steel, the other as brass plated steel. Either way the depiction of a lion holding saber with resplendent sun behind is a design that should not have been struck by the devout Islamic Republic. The design of a lion before the sun has a long tradition in the Islamic world beginning with the Seljuq Turks in Anatolia (Turkey). See an example here in the Moneta Museum at this: [ link ]