Catalog
50 Livres
| Issuer | Banque de Syrie et du Liban |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Livres |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Printed in reddish-brown on a pale ground, the note is enclosed within an ornate geometric and arabesque border, with the bank title 'BANQUE DE SYRIE ET DU LIBAN' in letterpress across the top, flanked by octagonal panels bearing 'Bon pour' and the denomination in Arabic script. The central field carries the reimbursement clause in French and Arabic, the issue date 'BEYROUTH LE 1er AOUT 1942', and two manuscript signatures, with the numeral '50' at lower right. The Arabic bank name 'بنك سوريا ولبنان' is set within a panel at the foot, and the imprint 'GOVERNMENT PRINTER PALESTINE' appears in the lower margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE SYRIE ET DU LIBAN خمسون ليرة CINQUANTE LIVRES Bon pour REMBOURSABLES AU PORTEUR A VUE EN CHEQUE SUR PARIS A RAISON DE VINGT FRANCS PAR LIVRE BEYROUTH LE 1er AOUT 1942 BA BA 50 بنك سوريا ولبنان GOVERNMENT PRINTER PALESTINE |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| 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 was a French-chartered institution operating under the Mandate, but by 1942 the political ground had shifted entirely — the Free French had displaced Vichy authority in Syria and Lebanon the previous year, and currency production had to be improvised accordingly. Routing the print job to the Government Printer in Jerusalem, then operating under British Mandatory Palestine, was a direct consequence of that wartime dislocation. Paris was inaccessible; the usual printers were not an option.
The Jerusalem connection makes this a genuinely anomalous piece of Mandate-era printing history — a French-authority banknote produced under British administrative infrastructure.