Offered in our upcoming official auction at the January New York International Numismatic Convention will be a stunning hardbound Iranian Specimen book. The book comprises a very rare assortment of Iranian Specimens within cardstock pages found in a hardbound leather book with “SPECIMEN BANKNOTES OF IRAN” printed in gold foil on the front cover. This specimen book once belonged to a close advisor of the Shah who left Iran to go to the United States in 1979. The exact information on how the book was put together remains unclear.
Each page is protected by tissue-thin paper so the note does not rub against the page before it. We consider all of the notes to be Uncirculated, but we recommend personal inspection of the book because the way the notes are displayed in the cardstock cutouts prevents us from making a more thorough examination. Some pieces are seen with punch cancels, others have perforated SPECIMEN punched across, some contain red specimen overprints, and a few have a combination of the three.
The notes included the book are as follows : 5 Rials (3) – Pick 32, 32A, & 39; 10 Rials (6) – Pick 19, 25, 33, 33A, 40, & 47; 20 Rials (6) – 20, 26, 34, 34A, 41, 48; 50 Rials (6) – 21, 27, 35, 35A, 42, & 49; 100 Rials (6) – Pick 22, 28, 36A, 43, 44, & 50; 200 Rials (1) – Pick 51; 500 Rials (5) – Pick 23, 29, 37, 45 & 52; 1000 Rials (2) – Pick 30 & 53.
While we are no longer accepting consignments to our January NYINC Auction, we welcome consignments for our 2017 auction season. If you are interested in consigning or if you have a currency related question, please call 1-800-458-4646 or email Currency Specialist Aris Maragoudakis at amarkis@stacksbowers.com or Director of Currency Peter Treglia at petert@stacksbowers.com.
