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1 Qirsh / Piastre
| Issuer | Syria |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 24 mm |
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| Obverse description | Central round hole surrounded by an open wreath composed of oak branches on the right and olive branches on the left, tied at the base. The bilingual legend encircles the design within a beaded border, reading in Arabic above and in French below and to the sides, with a five-pointed star separating the two inscriptions at each junction. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | دوَلة سُورية * ETAT DE SYRIE * (Translation: State of Syria State of Syria) |
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| Additional information |
Syria's zinc coinage of 1940 was a direct consequence of wartime metal shortages — copper and nickel had been redirected toward the war effort, forcing the French Mandate administration to substitute zinc for subsidiary denominations. The shift was abrupt; earlier piastre issues in this series had used copper-nickel, and the changeover happened mid-type, producing the "a" variant recorded here. Zinc corrodes readily in the Syrian climate, and well-preserved survivors are considerably scarcer than the mintage figures suggest.