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25 Piastres
| Issuer | Banque de Syrie |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919-1920 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of the Minaret of the Bride, located on the north side of the Omayyad Mosque courtyard in Damascus, positioned at lower centre. The note carries extensive French-language text setting out the redemption terms, with the issuing bank name and denomination rendered in both French and Arabic script. The overall layout is framed by fine guilloche borders typical of Bradbury Wilkinson engraving work of the period. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by a large central guilloche rosette with the numeral 25 in Arabic-Indic script within a circular medallion, set against an intricate engine-turned underprint in green and rose. A small white horse stands at lower centre beneath the rosette. Two classical columns with ornate Corinthian capitals flank the composition on either side, and the Arabic bank name البنك السوري appears across the top. Denomination panels reading PIASTRES SYRIENNES / 25 are placed at lower left and lower right. |
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| Comments |
Banque de Syrie was established in 1919 under French Mandate authority, effectively replacing the Ottoman Imperial Bank's monetary role in the Levant after the collapse of Ottoman administration. This note belongs to the bank's inaugural series — among the first paper currency issued under the new French-controlled order, denominated in piastres at a moment when the pound sterling, the Egyptian pound, and various Ottoman-era instruments were all still competing in local circulation.
Bradbury Wilkinson's involvement signals that Paris was content to outsource security printing to London for this series, a pragmatic choice given capacity constraints in postwar France.