Antique lottery ticket unveiled in Tehran

TEHRAN, May 17 (MNA) -- A national lottery ticket, which was issued in 1934 to raise funds to complete the construction of the structures around the tomb of Iranian epic poet Ferdowsi, was unveiled during a ceremony in Tehran.

The ceremony was held at the Golestan Cultural Historical Complex on Sunday, which was the National Ferdowsi Day, the Persian service of IRNA reported.

The lottery ticket was discovered in the archives of complex a long time ago, complex director Masud Sharifi said.

“This document shows how much the prominent poet had enjoyed high social status at that time,” he added.

The ticket bears a design of the Ferdowsi’s tomb in center and some verses of his poems inscribed on either side.

There is also a sentence below reading, “The winning ticket will be drawn under the supervision of Bank Melli Iran in Tehran on June 22, 1934.”

The ticket had been priced at 10 rials.

Ferdowsi’s tomb is located in Tus, 20 kilometers northeast of Mashhad. The construction of the tomb began in 1929, just four years after Reza Khan was crowned as shah.

The main structure of the tome was unveiled in 1934.