The Banque de Syrie et du Grand-Liban was established under French Mandate authority in 1919, absorbing the note-issuing functions previously held by the Ottoman Imperial Bank. This series was struck during the first full year of the Syrian pound's operation as a distinct currency, pegged to the French franc at a rate that would prove increasingly painful as the franc itself deteriorated through the late 1920s.
Printing by the Banque de France — the same institution responsible for French metropolitan currency — was a deliberate political signal, not merely a logistical convenience. The peg held until 1939.
The Banque de Syrie et du Grand-Liban was established under French Mandate authority in 1919, absorbing the note-issuing functions previously held by the Ottoman Imperial Bank. This series was struck during the first full year of the Syrian pound's operation as a distinct currency, pegged to the French franc at a rate that would prove increasingly painful as the franc itself deteriorated through the late 1920s.
Printing by the Banque de France — the same institution responsible for French metropolitan currency — was a deliberate political signal, not merely a logistical convenience. The peg held until 1939.