1 Dinar - Faisal I

This coin exists because of one of the shortest-lived constitutional monarchies in modern Arab history. Faisal I was proclaimed King of Syria in March 1920 by the Syrian National Congress, but French forces crushed the kingdom at the Battle of Maysalun just five months later, in July. Coin production almost certainly never reached meaningful circulation volumes before the French Mandate was established and the currency rendered void.

Fr#1 in Friedberg's gold coinage reference — the first listing — reflects how singular this issue is. Surviving examples are presumed to come almost entirely from mint state or near-mint state stocks, never having passed through the markets of Damascus.