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50 Piastres
| Issuer | Ministry of Finance, Lebanon |
|---|---|
| Year | 1942 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | A central vignette at top centre portrays a coastal landscape with palm trees, buildings, and a mosque rendered in intaglio against a green guilloche underprint. Two lion-head medallions flank the vignette at left and right, while the denomination '50' appears in the upper corners and the date 'BEYROUTH le 1er Août 1942' is inscribed below the vignette. The lower portion carries bilingual legends in French and Arabic alongside the serial number and the facsimile signature of the Director of Finances. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is dominated by a large ornate guilloche rosette at centre, printed in dark green over a pink-violet lathe-work underprint, with the numeral '50' set within a horizontal cartouche bearing the inscription 'PIASTRES LIBANAISES'. Elaborate architectural arch-and-column frames appear at left and right, each enclosing circular rosette ornaments, creating a highly decorative geometric composition typical of Bradbury Wilkinson engraving. The printer's imprint appears in a fine-text line at the base of the central panel. |
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| Comments |
Lebanon's wartime finances in 1942 were tangled — the country was under Free French authority following the 1941 Levant campaign, and the existing Syrian-Lebanese currency arrangements through the Banque de Syrie et du Liban were complicated by Vichy-era disruptions. This Ministry of Finance issue bypassed the concession bank entirely, a notable institutional choice. Bradbury Wilkinson's involvement was unsurprising; they held longstanding relationships with British-administered and British-adjacent territories throughout the war.
Pick 37 is among the scarcer wartime Lebanese issues, with low surviving populations suggesting limited print runs rather than heavy circulation losses.