100 Piastres

The Banque de Syrie was established under a French concession in 1919, following the collapse of Ottoman administrative and monetary structures at the end of the First World War. This note belongs to the bank's inaugural issue — the first paper currency circulated under the new French Mandatory framework, though the mandate itself wasn't formally recognized by the League of Nations until 1922. Bradbury Wilkinson, who handled the printing in London, was at this time one of the most technically accomplished security printers working outside the intaglio-heavy continental tradition.

The piastre denomination links directly to the Ottoman monetary system it was partially displacing — a deliberate continuity of unit that eased public acceptance during a politically volatile transition.