Catalog
10 Livres
| Issuer | Banque de Syrie |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Pound (1919-date) |
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| Obverse description | The clock tower of the Grand-Sérail in Beirut occupies the left portion of the note as a tall intaglio vignette, set against a fine guilloche underprint in brown tones. Bilingual text in French and Arabic appears across the face, including the bank title along the top and the denomination in large lettering at centre. The date "Beyrouth, le 1er Janvier 1920" is printed at lower centre, with spaces for the Le Secrétaire Général and Le Directeur signatures below. |
|---|---|
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| Variants | P#7a - issued note P#7s - Specimen |
| Comments |
The Banque de Syrie was established under French Mandate authority in 1919, and this 10 Livres note belongs to the bank's earliest emission series — issued just as France was consolidating administrative control over Greater Syria following the post-WWI partition agreements. The livre syrienne was pegged to the French franc at this stage, making these notes instruments of colonial monetary integration as much as everyday currency.
Bradbury Wilkinson's involvement here is worth noting: their security printing contracts across the British Empire and beyond frequently extended to French-administered territories, commercial rivalry between printing houses rarely following political boundaries.