This medal commemorated the visit of the Shah of Persia, Nasir ed din, to the Birmingham Mint in 1889. He had been on a tour of Europe and while in Birmingham also visited the Elkington showrooms. It was produced in the year that Ralph Heaton III decided to convert the family business into a publicly held limited liability corporation. On 22nd March 1889 an agreement was signed between Ralph Heaton and the new company called The Mint, Birmingham Ltd, whereby control passed over to the new company