Catalog
50 Livres
| Issuer | Banque de Syrie et du Liban |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945-1950 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Livres (50 LBP) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette of a Lebanese city view, likely Beirut, rendered in intaglio with architectural structures set against a hillside landscape, flanked by ornate floral guilloche panels in pale tones. Denomination numerals "50" appear in the upper corners alongside Arabic script, with additional Arabic text including date and official signatures at centre. The lower portion carries large Arabic denomination lettering within a decorative border framework. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central intaglio vignette of the Temple of Bacchus at Baalbek, its colonnade and stone platform rendered in fine detail against a mountainous background, set within a pale guilloche oval. Flanking the temple are tall decorative borders with olive branches, grapevines, and foliage in multicolour letterpress. Denomination numerals and Arabic inscriptions appear at the top, with engraver credits in small text at the lower corners. |
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| Comments |
The Banque de Syrie et du Liban was a French concessionary institution — privately held under a concession from the French government — that retained its role as currency authority through the mandate period and into formal independence. By 1945, both Syria and Lebanon had technically achieved recognized independence, yet this note was still being issued by a French-chartered bank, printed in Paris by the Banque de France. That institutional inertia was politically loaded and deeply resented, and it persisted until Lebanon established the Banque du Liban in 1964.
Beltrand came from a distinguished French engraving family; his work on the obverse plate is characteristic of the Banque de France's interwar and postwar house style.