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!
5 Girush / Piastres Essai
| Issuer | Banque de Syrie et du Grand-Liban |
|---|---|
| Year | 1925 |
| Type | Coin pattern |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic, Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The central design depicts a Phoenician galley rendered in fine relief, shown in profile with a row of oarsmen's shields along the hull, a decorative prow, and a stern ornament, evoking the ancient maritime heritage of the Levant. Below the galley, a stylized wavy band represents the sea. The Arabic denomination ٥ غروش (5 Girush) is inscribed along the upper field, while the Latin denomination 5 PIASTRES appears prominently in the lower field. The date 1925 is given in both Western and Arabic-Indic numerals (١٩٢٥) flanking a central dot, with the word ESSAI inscribed at the right border, identifying this piece as a pattern or trial strike. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Banque de Syrie et du Grand-Liban was established in 1919 under French Mandate authority to serve as the currency-issuing institution for territories carved out of the collapsed Ottoman Empire. This 1925 essai — a trial piece submitted for official approval rather than intended circulation — predates the regular bronze issue and was produced in Paris as part of the Mandate administration's effort to establish a coherent monetary system distinct from the Ottoman piastre it was replacing.
Essais of this series are genuinely scarce; Leconte documents only a handful of confirmed specimens.