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!
1 Livre pattern overprint
| Issuer | Banque de Syrie et du Liban |
|---|---|
| Year | 1939 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Livre |
| 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 | Intaglio-printed note in green and multicolour on a fine guilloche underprint, with a vignette of the Columns of Baalbek at left centre, set against a detailed architectural landscape. At upper centre, two circular medallions flank the bilingual bank title cartouche reading "Banque de Syrie et du Liban" in French and Arabic; a third medallion at lower left carries the numeral "1" within a foliate frame. The denomination "UNE LIVRE" and its Arabic equivalent appear in bold letterpress at centre, with the redemption clause and place-date "Beyrouth 1er Septembre 1939" below, accompanied by two manuscript signatures beneath Arabic role titles. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| 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 | P#26a - overprint P#26b - overprint P#26c - overprint P#26d - overprint P#26e - overprint |
| Comments |
The Banque de Syrie et du Liban operated under French Mandate authority, and the 1939 date places this note at an acutely uncertain moment — France was mobilizing for war, and currency planning for the Levant territories had to account for the very real possibility that supply lines to London would be severed. Pattern overprints from this period were typically produced to test approval of modified designs or authorization text before committing to a full print run, meaning this note was never intended for public circulation at any point.
Bradbury Wilkinson held the contract for this series throughout the late Mandate period. Surviving pattern pieces are uncommon; most were retained by the printer or the issuing authority and destroyed after approval decisions were made.