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1/2 Ghirsh / Piastre
| Issuer | Banque de Syrie et du Grand-Liban |
|---|---|
| Year | 1934-1936 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 4 g |
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|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | الجمهورية اللبنانية ١/٢ نصف غرش ١٩٣٦ (Translation: Lebanese Republic 1/2 Half Piastre 1936) |
| Reverse description | Central field displays the denomination '1/2' above the word 'PIASTRE' in bold serif lettering, framed by a wreath of two olive branches tied at the base with a ribbon bow. The legend 'REPUBLIQUE LIBANAISE' curves along the upper periphery in raised Latin capitals, separated from the wreath by a beaded inner border. The date '1936' appears in the lower exergue area, partially overlapping the base of the wreath. The design is executed in the restrained neoclassical style characteristic of the Monnaie de Paris under engraver Lucien Georges Bazor. |
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| Additional information |
The Banque de Syrie et du Grand-Liban, a French concessionary institution rather than a true central bank, issued this coin under the authority of the French Mandate — a League of Nations arrangement that gave Paris administrative control over Syria and Lebanon following the post-WWI partition of Ottoman territories. The dual denomination inscription, giving both the Arabic ghirsh and the French piastre, reflects the administrative awkwardness of governing a multilingual population under a foreign mandate power.
The 1934–1936 date range brackets a period of significant political turbulence, including the Syrian general strike of 1936 and Franco-Syrian treaty negotiations that ultimately failed ratification in the French parliament.