Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
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!
50 Livres
| Issuer | Banque de Syrie et du Liban |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Pound (1919-date) |
| 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 | A vignette at left presents a street scene with an arched colonnade, rendered in fine intaglio engraving. The centre carries bilingual text in French and Arabic with the denomination and redemption clause, flanked by guilloche underprint panels and the numeral 50 at lower left and right. The date "Damas 1er Septembre 1939" appears below the central inscription, with two manuscript signatures beneath. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | بنك سوريا ولبنان LIVRES 50 CINQUANTE LIVRES ليرة |
| 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 operated under French Mandate authority, and by 1939 its note issues were carrying the weight of an administration increasingly anxious about the coming European war. Bradbury Wilkinson's involvement was long-standing with this series — the London firm had handled high-denomination Mandate-era printings for the bank through the 1930s, producing work of consistently high engraving quality.
The 50 Livres was not a denomination that saw heavy street circulation. At that value, these notes moved primarily between commercial institutions and government accounts, which is why surviving examples often show less wear than lower denominations from the same period.