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1/2 Ghirsh / Piastre WW2 War Coinage
| Issuer | Lebanon |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Piastre (0.005 LBP) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | LIBAN 1/2 1/2 PIASTRE (Translation: Lebanon 1/2 1/2 Ghirsh) |
| Reverse description | Plain brass field surrounding a central circular hole, with the country name in Arabic script inscribed across the upper arc reading لبنان. The fractional denomination 1/2 appears in Arabic numerals to either side of the central hole, with the word غرش (Ghirsh) rendered in Arabic script across the lower field. The layout mirrors the obverse composition, emphasizing the bilingual character of this French Mandate emergency issue. |
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| Additional information |
Lebanon in 1941 was under the administration of Vichy France, and the Allied invasion that June — Operation Exporter — transferred effective control to Free French forces within weeks. This coin was struck under that precise period of political rupture, when the future of French mandatory authority over Lebanon was genuinely unresolved. Brass replaced the usual alloys largely because strategic metals had been redirected toward the war effort across French-controlled territories.
The "War Coinage" designation is not ceremonial — it reflects an acute shortage of normal minting resources rather than any commemorative intent.