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1/2 Qirsh / Piastre
| Issuer | Banque de Syrie |
|---|---|
| Year | 1921 |
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| Currency | Pound (1919-date) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic |
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| Reverse description | Central field bears the denomination '1/2 PIASTRE SYRIENNE' in three lines of bold incuse Latin lettering, surmounted by the fractional numeral '1/2'. The denomination is flanked by two elegantly rendered laurel or olive branches tied at the base with a ribbon bow, their sprays curving symmetrically upward to frame the legend. The issuer's name 'BANQUE DE SYRIE' arcs along the upper periphery, and the date '1921' is inscribed in the lower exergue between the branch stems. The design is enclosed by a beaded border following the coin's milled rim, with small cornucopia privy marks of the Monnaie de Paris visible at the left and right inner border. |
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| Additional information |
The Banque de Syrie was a French-controlled institution established under the Mandate authority, and these early issues effectively displaced Ottoman-era coinage still circulating in the region following the collapse of the empire. France granted the bank its note-issuing monopoly in 1919, and the subsidiary coinage followed within two years — a deliberate move to anchor the Syrian pound to the French franc at parity.
KM#68 is among the first coins struck specifically for Mandate Syria.