Iran, Qajar Dynasty. A Naser al-Din Shah Qajar Fiftieth Anniversary Golden Jubilee Medal 1896, II Class Silver Grade Meda

(مدال طلایی پنجاهمین سالگرد ناصرالدین شاه قاجار). Instituted in 1896 (1313). Type III. In silver, measuring 35.8 mm in diameter, bruised, edge nicks, contact marks, modern replacement ribbon, near very fine.

Footnote: Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (Persian: ناصرالدین‌شاه قاجار, romanized: Nāser-ad-Din Ŝāh-e Qājār; July 16, 1831 – May 1, 1896) was the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran from September 5, 1848 to May 1, 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and Malek Jahan Khanom and the third longest reigning monarch in Iranian history after Shapur II of the Sassanid dynasty and Tahmasp I of the Safavid dynasty. Nasser al-Din Shah had sovereign power for close to fifty-one years. He was the first modern Persian monarch who formally visited Europe and wrote of his travels in his memoirs. A modernist, he allowed the establishment of newspapers in the country and made use of modern forms of technology such as telegraphs, photography and also planned concessions for railways and irrigation works. Despite his modernizing reforms on education, his tax reforms were abused by people in power, and the government was viewed as corrupt and unable to protect commoners from abuse by the upper class which led to increasing anti-governmental sentiments. He ended up being assassinated when visiting a shrine.