Catalog
10 Piastres
| Issuer | Banque de Syrie |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | A pastoral vignette at upper centre shows shepherds gathered around a campfire in a rural landscape, flanked by the denomination numeral '10' on either side and bilingual Arabic and French text panels. The centre band carries the Arabic bank title 'البنك السوري' within a decorative cartouche, above the large French legend 'DIX PIASTRES SYRIENNES' in bold letterpress. The date 'Beyrouth le 1er Juillet 1920' appears at lower left, with a guilloche underprint in blue and red tones framing the lower portion of the note. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 10 PIASTRES SYRIENNES 10 البنك السوري |
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| Comments |
The Banque de Syrie was established under French mandate authority following the post-WWI dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire, and this 1920 issue was among the earliest notes put into circulation under the new order. France had secured the Syrian mandate at San Remo in April 1920 — the ink was barely dry on that agreement when these notes entered use.
Bradbury Wilkinson was a logical choice for the commission: the New Malden firm handled sensitive currency work for numerous colonial and mandate territories throughout the interwar period. The piastre denomination itself was carried over directly from Ottoman usage, a deliberate continuity intended to ease public acceptance of the new currency regime.