25 Piastres

The Banque de Syrie et du Liban was a French concession bank operating under the Mandate, but by 1942 the political situation had become genuinely complicated — the Free French had ousted the Vichy administration in Syria and Lebanon the previous year, and currency continuity was part of asserting legitimate successor authority. Notes of this period carry that transitional weight without advertising it.

Bradbury Wilkinson's wartime output for overseas clients was constrained by London's own production pressures, which may account for some variation in paper quality across the P#36 series. Worth examining the serial number blocks carefully — range gaps have been documented.