Catalog
5 Piastres
| Issuer | Libyan Currency Commission |
|---|---|
| Year | 1951 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Pound (1951-1971) |
| 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 | The reverse is printed entirely in rose-red and dominated by an elaborate guilloche rosette underprint filling the central panel, within a scalloped border of fine lathe-work. 'UNITED KINGDOM OF LIBYA' is lettered across the top, with 'FIVE PIASTRES' in large serif capitals across the centre. A legal tender clause and an issuance statement referencing Law No. 4 of 24th October 1951 in the reign of King Idris I appear above and below the central denomination. The numeral '5' is repeated in each corner. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Watermark |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Libyan Currency Commission was a transitional body, not a central bank — it existed solely to provide Libya with a functioning currency in time for independence on 24 December 1951. Britain and France administered different parts of the country under UN mandate, and the Commission was the compromise mechanism that allowed a unified currency to be issued across all three territories: Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and the Fezzan. Thomas De La Rue handled the full series, as they did for a substantial portion of British-administered territories coming into independence during this period.
The Commission was dissolved once the National Bank of Libya was established in 1956, at which point this series was superseded.