Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Banque de Syrie et du Liban |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 250 Livres (250 LBP) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central intaglio vignette of Saida (Sidon) sea castle viewed from the shore, with a large eagle vignette to the right rendered in fine engraving. The composition is framed by elaborate vine and rose guilloche borders. The issuing bank name appears in a panel at bottom centre, flanked by 'LIBAN' inscriptions at lower left and right. |
| Reverse lettering | DEUX CENT CINQUANTE LIVRES REMBOURSABLE AU PORTEUR EN CHÈQUE SUR PARIS A RAISON DE VINGT FRANCS PAR LIVRE LIBAN LIBAN BANQUE DE SYRIE ET DU LIBAN SÉB. LAURENT FEC. BORNET SC. |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Banque de Syrie et du Liban was a French concessionary institution — not a central bank in any sovereign sense, but a private entity operating under a mandate framework, issuing currency for territories France administered under League of Nations authority. The 1939 date is significant: notes printed that year were produced on the eve of war, and the fall of France in June 1940 created immediate questions about the bank's relationship to Vichy versus Free French authority, a dispute that had direct consequences for currency validity across the Levant.
Banque de France handled the intaglio work, with Hourriez on the obverse plate and Bornet on the reverse — a division of labor typical of the Paris atelier for high-denomination colonial issues.