5 Piastres

Libya's monetary system at independence in 1951 was a patchwork — the country had been administered in three separate territories under British and French control, each with its own currency arrangements. The Libyan pound, introduced in 1952 by the newly created National Bank of Libya, unified those arrangements for the first time. This 5 Piastres note was part of that inaugural issue, making it among the first paper currency issued under the Libyan state.

De La Rue's production for the series is characteristically clean, but the denomination itself had a short practical life — low-value fractional notes were quickly edged out by coin, and few of these saw extended circulation before being withdrawn.