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50 Ghirshā / Piastres
| Issuer | Lebanese Republic |
|---|---|
| Year | 1929-1936 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | A large, naturalistically rendered Cedar of Lebanon occupies the central field, its broad canopy spreading nearly to the beaded border. Beneath the tree, a rectangular cartouche bears the Arabic legend of the issuing authority, flanked on either side by the date rendered in both Western and Arabic-Indic numerals. Below the cartouche, the Latin legend REPUBLIQUE LIBANAISE is inscribed in two lines across the lower field. The composition is bold and emblematic, typical of the French engraving tradition of the interwar period. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | الجمهوريّة اللبنانيّة 1929 ١٩٢٩ REPUBLIQUE LIBANAISE (Translation: Lebanese Republic) |
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| Additional information |
Lebanon's coinage in this period was administered not by Beirut but by Paris — the Banque de Syrie et du Liban issued currency under the French Mandate, with dies prepared by the Paris Mint and the denomination expressed in both Arabic and French to satisfy the political demands of a territory that was never quite comfortable being governed from abroad. The franc libanais itself was pegged to the French franc, making these coins functionally extensions of metropolitan French monetary policy dressed in local nomenclature.
The .680 fineness is notably below the standard used for contemporary French silver, a deliberate economy applied to mandate-territory coinage.