5 Livres

The Banque de Syrie et du Grand-Liban operated under French Mandate authority, and its note issues were handled directly by the Banque de France — an arrangement that kept monetary control firmly in Paris rather than Beirut or Damascus. Louis-Joseph Soulas was among the more accomplished intaglio engravers working for the Banque de France during this period, contributing to several colonial and mandate currency series simultaneously.

Pick 12A is distinguished from the otherwise similar 12 by its serial number format. The 1935 date places it in the mandate's final stable decade before the disruptions of the Second World War forced emergency note issues.