'Persia and the Persian Question by the Hon. George Nathaniel Curzon, M.P.' [‎513] (572/714)

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INSTITUTIONS AND -REFORMS
513
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mint, but the resistance, active and passive, he encountered was so great that seven
years later he left the country without having been able to accomplish anything.
In 1875 Herr Pechan, an Austrian mint official, was entrusted with a reform
of the currency, and initiated one which would have been efficient had he been
allowed full powers and the requisite means for carrying out his ideas. He no
sooner had begun his work, however, than he was ordered to coin large quantities
■of copper, and to leave silver minting for a future occasion. When he attempted
to coin a standard silver Ttran, and asked for the funds necessary for raising the
quality of the piece, he was met by a refusal, and by a suggestion as to alloy
which it was impossible for him, as an Austrian official, to accept. Herr Pechan
furnished the following table, showing the result of his assays of coin in circula
tion in 1877. It must be stated that at that time the governors of provinces had
each a local mint, for working which they paid a yearly royalty.
Provinces
Years
Hamadan .
Tauris
Kashan
Isfahan
Kerman
Mazanderan
Meshed
Kermanshah
Resht.
Teheran
Shiraz
Yezd .
Herat.
A.II.
1293
1290
1282
1293
1293
1292
1293
1282
1280
1292
1291
1278
1277
A.D.
1877
1874
1865
1877
1877
1876
1877
1866
1864
1876
1875
1862
1861
1
Weight
Fineness
Value
: grammes
per 1,000
francs
: 4-95
760
0-836
4-90
820
08926
5-03
820
0-91658
5-02
840
0-937
4-90
840
0-9146
4-97
840
0-9277
4-90
840
0-91
4-97
880
0-9719
4-80
890
0-9493
5-02
900
1004
4-90
900
0-98
4'97
900
0-994
4-90
900
0-98
These figures give some idea of the irregularity of the Persian currency.
Between Iram of Hamadan and those of Teheran there is a difference in value
•of no less than 17 per cent.; between those of other towns and of the capital the
difference is very considerable from a monetary point of view, although less than
in the extreme cases quoted. Since 1877 the currency has certainly not improved,
for the old heavy Itrans have been re-minted, and the debased ones remain in
circulation in obedience to Gresham's law.
It is evident that a reform of the currency can only be carried out in one of two
ways -.—Firstly : The Government should abandon the policy of farming out the
mint for a yearly sum, and should take over the direct management of the currency.
A new coinage should be struck, and the old coinage called in and re-minted at its
legal standard and weight, at the expense of the State. This would be the best
and soundest solution of the difficulty, but to carry it out the ideas of the
Government must undergo a complete revolution. Secondly : The mint might be
handed over to European control for a definite period, to be worked for the benefit
of the State. As the Government would probably refuse to make any sacrifices for
the reform, there remains only the creation of a new system, based upon a Iran,
corresponding to the value of the coin actually in circulation, less the cost of re-
coinage. This would enable the old coinage to be called in, and, with the dearth
of the circulating medium, it is probable that the modification would affect the
exchange very slightly, if at all. On the other hand, a uniform type of hran, well
executed and circulating in sufficient quantities, would undoubtedly be a great
boon to trade and to the country generally.
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