100 Livres

The Banque de Syrie et du Liban was a French concessionary institution — its mandate over both countries was already politically untenable by the time this note was printed. Syria had formally declared independence in 1946, and Lebanon in 1943, yet the Banque de Syrie et du Liban continued issuing currency for both territories into the late 1940s while negotiations over a replacement monetary authority dragged on. This note exists in that gap.

Printed by the Banque de France and engraved by Ernest Deloche after a design by Sébastien Laurent, the production quality is characteristically high — the Banque de France brought the same technical standards to colonial and mandate-era commissions as to its domestic issues. Deloche's work on French and associated issues spans several decades and is identifiable by its fine crosshatching in shadow areas.

Syria ultimately broke from the Lebanese pound in 1948, making the window for this note's legitimate dual-country circulation exceptionally brief.