The 20,000 Iranian Rial Banknote 2018 (Khomeini and the Windcatchers of Abarkuh). Iberoamericana Banknotes

October 19, 2026

Billete de 20.000 riales de Irán 2018, P153b, sin circular, en azul: Jomeiní junto a un rosetón y captadores de viento de la casa Aghazadeh en Abarkooh

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Sold exclusively as a collectible item: these are uncirculated numismatic pieces for collectors, not currency for exchange or a means of payment.

Long before air conditioning existed, houses in the Iranian desert were already self-cooling. The 20,000 rials banknote (Pick 153b, 20000 rials Iran) tells this story on its reverse with the badgirs, or windcatchers, of the Aghazadeh house in Abarkooh. It is the fourth version of this denomination to feature the portrait of Khomeini, issued since 2014; our variety bears the 2017 signatures (Valiollah Seif and Masoud Karbasian).

You can get it uncirculated in its product page (P153b) or along with its companions in our 4-banknote set from the previous series.

The reverse: the house of the windcatchers

The tall, narrow towers seen above the roof are the badgirs: they have openings at the top that catch the breeze and channel it downward into the interior, while hot air escapes through other openings. Some passed over ponds or underground channels to cool the air even further.
The Aghazadeh house features a very particular, two-story windcatcher, which is seen as the tallest tower on the right.
A dome and several arched facades complete the scene.
The text «THE WINDCATCHERS IN ABARKOOH», and the number "20000" in large size, in green and blue.

Abarkooh, in Yazd province, is a desert town also famous for the Cypress of Abarkooh, a tree estimated to be about 4,000 years old.

The obverse

Khomeini on the right, in dark blue.
A large geometric rosette (shamseh) on the left, with stars of Islamic art, and next to it a panel with a green-to-blue gradient.
The value in words ("twenty thousand rials") at the bottom left and the name of the bank at the top.

History of the denomination

The 20,000 rials with Khomeini has been in circulation since 2003. Its first reverse depicted the Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan; since 2014, it has featured the windcatchers, and in 2022, the denomination was redesigned within the toman series with the mausoleum of the poets of Tabriz on the 20,000 rials 2022 (2 tomans) banknote.

Security and technical specifications

Watermark of Khomeini; windowed security thread with a stylized demetallized sun and "I.R. IRAN" visible when held to the light; number "20000" visible when tilting the banknote and fluorescent elements.

Catalog: Pick 153b · Date: no date printed (2017 signatures)
Format: 163 × 78 mm

For your collection

It is a perfect banknote for a collection of bioclimatic architecture or inventions on banknotes, and one of the last large-format 20,000 rials before the 2022 size change.

Remember: it is sold as a collectible item and does not accept payment via PayPal. All our banknotes are original, uncirculated, and we ship worldwide.