5 Pounds with hologram

Syria introduced polymer-style security features to its coinage in the early 2000s as part of a broader effort to combat counterfeiting that had become a documented problem with the older brass and steel issues. The hologram application on this denomination was unusual for the region at the time — most neighboring central banks were still relying on milled edges and composition changes alone as anti-counterfeiting measures.

Production was handled under the Baath government in the final months before the death of Prime Minister Mustafa Miro's administration handed power following the 2003 cabinet reshuffle.