1 Ghirsh / Piastre WW2 War Coinage

Lebanon's 1941 brass coinage was struck under the Free French administration following the Anglo-Free French campaign that expelled Vichy forces from the Levant in June–July of that year. The shift in controlling authority mid-year created genuine administrative urgency around circulating coinage, as Vichy-era currency arrangements had to be rapidly superseded.

The Paris Mint could not be used — it was operating under German occupation. Striking was arranged through alternative Free French channels, which accounts for the somewhat inconsistent quality found across surviving examples of this type.