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1/2 Ghirsh / Piastre WW2 War Coinage, Unholed Pattern
| Issuer | Syria |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Piastre (0.005 SYP) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central raised ring or annular boss occupies the field, flanked on either side by the fractional denomination figure '1/2' in bold raised numerals. The legend 'SYRIE' arches above in Latin capitals, and 'PIASTRE' runs along the lower periphery, all within a plain border. The design is stark and utilitarian, consistent with wartime emergency coinage aesthetics. This is an unholed pattern variant, distinguishable from the issued holed type by the solid centre. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | سورية ١/٢ ١/٢ غرش (Translation: Syria 1/2 Piastre) |
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| Additional information |
Syria in 1941 was under Vichy French administration — the Mandate authority that had controlled coinage production since the 1920s. When Allied forces invaded in June of that year and handed control to the Free French, the entire monetary apparatus was in transition. Pattern pieces from this moment are poorly documented precisely because the issuing authority itself was in dispute; it is not always clear which administration commissioned a given trial strike.
The unholed format distinguishes this from the circulating wartime issue, which carried a central hole — a cost-reduction measure standard across Levant coinage of the period.