Buying and Selling: Ruling on Buying and Selling Banknotes as Collectibles Above Face Value

Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei

Buying and Selling: Ruling on Buying and Selling Banknotes as Collectibles Above Face Value

English:

Question #1593:

What is the ruling in the matter of buying and selling banknotes, not for what they are, i.e. a means of monetary exchange, rather for having a special value? To give an example, one may be interested in acquiring the green backed banknote of one-thousand Toman denomination, which bears the picture of the late Imam Khomeini, for more than its nominal value.

Answer #1593:

There is no harm in that provided that dealing in such banknotes is both serious and for a sensible reason. If this sale is on credit, i.e., just a formality intended to circumvent a ribā-based loan transaction, it is ḥarām and invalid.

-Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Importance and Conditions of Buying and Selling