Rare Event in Iran's Coin Market: Half-Coin and Gold Mesghal Premiums Briefly Turn Negative as Travel-Dollar Trades Reach the Gold Market

According to Ecoiran, published Sunday, 18 Mordad 1405 (August 9, 2026), Tehran's gold and currency market stayed range-bound the same day that news on Strait of Hormuz reopening talks turned contradictory: the dollar edged down toward the 185,000 toman channel, the Emami coin hovered near 186 million tomans, and a mesghal of melted gold traded around 81.1 million tomans. Sahmino's own live price data at 19:59 the same day put the dollar at 1,856,000 rials (185,600 tomans) and the Emami coin near 187 million tomans.

The rare development on Sunday, per Ecoiran, was that during trading the half-coin's premium over intrinsic value was estimated as negative for a time, an uncommon occurrence; the Emami coin's premium fell to around negative 2 percent and the melted gold mesghal's premium to around negative 3.7 percent, meaning some grades traded below their intrinsic value. Sahmino's own live data confirms a sharp intraday drop in the Emami coin's premium: after standing above 38 million rials in recent days, it fell 27.5 percent to 27,870,000 rials by 19:59 Sunday. Separately, so called "travel-note" trades, which had gained traction in free-market dollar-note trading since the first week of Ordibehesht, reached the gold market too on Sunday, according to Ecoiran, with some traders swapping gold for US dollar travel banknotes.