'Persia and the Persian Question by the Hon. George Nathaniel Curzon, M.P.' [‎473] (532/714)

stands. 1 lie Master of the Mint, however, who pays 5,000 tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
a year for the concession, and is allowed to take five per cent.
seigneurage on whatever he coins, is not to be cheated of his sly per
sonal mtidakhd in addition; and the actual proportion in the case of
the silver coinage was, in 1889, 89If in every 1,000, in the gold
coinage 885^, the remainder being copper alloy. Originally this
individual paid a much larger sum for the concession, and realised a
handsome profit out of the copper currency. But, in consequence of
the scandalous depreciation, this prerogative was taken from him. 1
Owing principally to the great excess of imports over exports
which existed till within recent years, but which is now being
Circulation slowly redressed, gold may be said to have disappeared
o f gold f rom circulation. Silver at one time became exceedingly
scarce. The Persian Government, becoming much alarmed, con
ceived the delicious idea of prohibiting the export of the precious
metals; but this design was, fortunately, not proceeded with. The
gold pieces nominally in circulation are coins of a quarter, half,
one, two, five, and ten tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. . To such a point had the apprecia
tion risen, that I found that one of the last-named coins, nominally
equivalent to 100 Irons, could not be purchased for less than 145
loans in Teheran, a premium ot nearly fifty per cent.
The abuses and drawbacks of the Persian monetary system, and,
indeed, of all mercantile transactions in that country, have long
Need of len deiedthe introduction of banks managed upon the
banks ean ^ jUro P eai1 plan a sine qua non of any material improvement
on a large scale. Of the fluctuations in exchange and
scarcity of money I have already spoken. Another drawback was
the unequal distribution at any given moment of the precious
metals, and the enormous cost of the transport of specie, which
could only be carried at much expense on the backs of beasts of
burden. Merchants experienced the greatest difficulty ancl risk in
making remittances to Europe. Small cliques of native money-
jobbers controlled the market in the provincial towns. Native
capital was frightened away from any enterprise of public ad
vantage by the distrust attending all investment. Still worse was
the practice of hoarding pursued by every man of wealth, from the
Shah downwards. Nothing could demonstrate the retrograde
1 In December 1889, however, he procured a renewal of the right to coin
copper money for an experimental period of six months, and the farm price was
increased to the rate of 25,000 tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. per annum.