Financial Tribune- More than 9,500 gold coins were sold in the first week of auctions held at Bank Melli Iran-affiliate Bank Kargoshaee, the head of the affiliate said.

"During the past week, three auctions were held and a total of 4,910 Bahar Azadi gold coins and 4,640 Half Azadi coins were sold in 219 transactions," Masoud Soleimani also told BMI's Public Relations Department.

According to the official, the coins were offered in 20-piece packages but the number of coins in the packages was subsequently increased to 50 and 100 due to high demand.

Another auction was held on Saturday and two more are scheduled for Monday and probably Wednesday.

According to Soleimani, a total of 3,440 Bahar Azadi gold coins and 1,500 Half Azadi coins were sold in the Saturday auction.

If the two other auctions this week receive as strong a reception as the fourth one on Saturday, more coins will be auctioned than in the first week.

The auctions are being managed by the Central Bank of Iran to deflate the Iranian market's gold bubble that saw benchmark gold coins rise to a six-year high.

The Emami gold coin was traded for 14 million rials ($337) on Saturday, according to the Tehran Gold and Jewelry Union's website.

The Bahar Azadi coin changed hands for 13.46 million rials ($324) on the same day.