2019-03-04 Mon

Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus is west across the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon's economy follows a laissez-faire model.

The Lebanese pound (French: Livre Libanaise) the currency of Lebanon. It used to be divided into 100 Piastres (or Qirsh) but high inflation in the Lebanese Civil War has eliminated the subdivisions. Lebanon's first banknotes were issued by the Banque du Syrie et Grand-Liban (Bank of Syria and Greater Lebanon) in 1925. Denominations ran from 25 girsha through to 100 pounds. In 1939, the bank's name was changed to the Bank of Syria and Lebanon.

The banknote depicted beside is a 1 Livre note of 1952-1964. The obverse depicts a Sea castle at Saida (Sidon) built by the Crusaders in 1228 A.D along with some boats. The reverse portrays the ruins of the Temple of Jupiter in Baalbek (Heliopolis). This predominantly brown coloured note has the effigy of Emir Bashir Shihab II (1767-1850) as the watermark.

Image Courtesy: eBay.com