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1 Livre
| Issuer | Banque de Syrie et du Grand-Liban |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Livre |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is laid out in an intricate geometric and arabesque framework with guilloche underprint throughout. At centre, Arabic text reads 'لیرة واحدة' (One Livre) with the denomination numeral '1' repeated in the lower corners; the inscription 'SYRIE 1939' appears at the top in Latin characters alongside Arabic legends of the bank name. Two manuscript signatures of bank officials appear below the central text panel, with serial number and prefix printed at top and bottom margins. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | BANQUE DE SYRIE ET DU GRAND-LIBAN GRAND-LIBAN UNE LIVRE |
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| Comments |
The Banque de Syrie et du Grand-Liban was a French concessionary bank, its mandate extended repeatedly despite growing Arab nationalist pressure — this 1939 issue appeared as France was simultaneously managing Syrian independence negotiations and preparing for a war that would upend the entire Levantine monetary order. The note was printed in Paris by the Banque de France, which produced the series under tight metropolitan supervision rather than through any locally administered process.
Within two years of this issue, the fall of France and the subsequent Free French takeover of Syria complicated the note's legal standing considerably. The bank's concession was not finally terminated until 1956.