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50 Livres Syriennes
| Issuer | Banque de Syrie |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#18A |
| Obverse description | Yellow-green note printed in letterpress with bilingual French and Arabic text throughout. At left centre, a vignette presents an arched gateway in a Levantine urban streetscape; the central field carries BANQUE DE SYRIE above CINQUANTE LIVRES SYRIENNES in bold letterpress, beneath which bilingual redemption text states payability against 1,000 Francs by cheque on Paris, with the date Beyrouth, 1er Juillet 1920 / بيروت ١ تموز ١٩٢٠ and two manuscript signatures below. The denomination numeral 50 appears within a guilloche cartouche at lower right, repeated in corner numerals at upper left and upper right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed in brown and olive tones, the reverse is framed by an elaborate guilloche border enclosing a central intaglio vignette of a traditional Arab sailing vessel (dhow) on calm waters before a rocky coastal headland, executed in fine line engraving. Ornate lateral panels carry the denomination in Arabic script flanked by decorative rosettes and arabesque motifs, with camel vignettes at the lower lateral cartouches. The legend CINQUANTE LIVRES SYRIENNES is set in letterpress along the bottom margin, with the printer's imprint in small characters at lower centre. |
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| Comments |
The Banque de Syrie was a French-mandated institution — a renamed and restructured successor to the Ottoman Imperial Bank's Syrian operations, brought under French control following the League of Nations mandate awarded to France in 1920. This note was issued in the same year the mandate was formalised, making it among the earliest paper currency of what France was openly treating as a protectorate in all but official terminology.
Waterlow and Sons had extensive experience printing colonial and mandate-territory currency at this period, and the quality of the intaglio work on this series reflects that. The 50 Livres denomination was the highest in the initial Banque de Syrie series, which meant it circulated primarily among merchants and the administrative class rather than in everyday retail trade.
Pick lists P#18A as distinct from P#18, the separation likely based on signature combinations.