Syria in 1941 was under the administration of Vichy France, and the Free French forces under de Gaulle wrested control of the territory from Vichy that same year following the Syria-Lebanon campaign. Wartime metal shortages and the disruption of the transition between administrations created conditions where experimental and pattern pieces were struck with notable irregularities — this double obverse configuration almost certainly emerged from that chaotic production window rather than any deliberate policy.
Syria in 1941 was under the administration of Vichy France, and the Free French forces under de Gaulle wrested control of the territory from Vichy that same year following the Syria-Lebanon campaign. Wartime metal shortages and the disruption of the transition between administrations created conditions where experimental and pattern pieces were struck with notable irregularities — this double obverse configuration almost certainly emerged from that chaotic production window rather than any deliberate policy.