Thursday, 11 March 2021

1733) A new Polymer 100,000 Pound/Lira Banknote, Lebanon: i) Historical Development of the Lebanese Pound/Lira; ii) The "Banque du Liban" (Bank of Lebanon): iii) Lebanese Currency Denominations; iv) Current Lebanese Banknote Series; v) The new Banknote issued on 07.12.2020:

1733) A new Polymer 100,000 Pound/Lira Banknote, Lebanon: i) Historical Development of the Lebanese Pound/Lira; ii) The "Banque du Liban" (Bank of Lebanon): iii) Lebanese Currency  Denominations; iv) Current Lebanese Banknote Series; v) The new Banknote issued on 07.12.2020:

Historical Development of the Lebanese Pound (or Lira):

The Lebanese Pound or Lira is the Currency of Lebanon. It used to be divided into 100 piastres (or qirsh) but high inflation during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) eliminated the need for subdivisions.

i) Historical Development of the Lebanese Currency/Coinage:

Before the First World War, Lebanon and Syria were part of the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish pound/Ottoman Lira was the legal tender. 

In 09/1918, following the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish pound was replaced by the Egyptian Pound as the legal tender in the states under the joint French and British mandate. 

Upon taking Lebanon and Syria under its separate mandate, the French Government replaced the Egyptian currency and granted a commercial bank - the "Banque de Syrie", a French affiliate of the Ottoman Bank - the authority to issue a currency for the states under its new mandate, namely the new Syrian currency - the "Syrian Pound" which was linked to the French franc at a value of 1 pound = 20 francs.

As the political status of Lebanon evolved, the "Banque de Syrie", which was to act as the official bank for Lebanon and Syria, was renamed the Banque de Syrie et du Liban (BSL). 

The BSL was granted the sole right to issue a French franc based Lebanese-Syrian currency in Lebanon and Syria for 15 years starting in January 1924. 

Lebanon issued its own coins from 1924 and banknotes from 1925 under this arrangement. 

In 1939, the Lebanese currency was officially separated from that of Syria, though it was still linked to the French Franc and remained interchangeable with Syrian money.

In 1937, two years before the expiry of the 15-year period, the BSL was extended for another 25 years to issue in Lebanon a Lebanese currency separate from the Syrian currency, both of which could be used interchangeably in either state.

 Although the currency was Lebanese in name, it remained a disguised French Franc until 1941, when it was linked to the Pound Sterling after the defeat of France and the invasion of Lebanon by the Allied Forces.

In 1943, following its independence, Lebanon concluded a monetary agreement with France in 1948 separating its national currency from the unstable French Franc (Law of May 24th, 1949). Lebanon sought the Lebanisation of the BSL. A council known as the Council of Money and Credit was formed to draw up the Money and Credit Code and the by-laws of Lebanon's Central Bank, the "Banque du Liban" (BDL), which is presently the supervising body for Lebanese Monetary Supervision and Control functions.

ii) The "Banque du Liban" (Bank of Lebanon):

The Banque du Liban (Bank of Lebanon) was established by the Code of Money and Credit on 1 April 1964. 

On 1 August 1963 Decree No. 13.513 of the “Law of References: Banque Du Liban 23 Money and Credit” granted the Bank of Lebanon the sole right to issue notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 250 Lebanese Pounds, expressed in Arabic on the front, and French (livres) on the back. 

Higher denominations were issued in the 1980s and 1990s as inflation drastically reduced the currency's value.

iii) Lebanese Currency Denominations:

 10 denominations of coins have been issued at various points of time:

 - Coins of Piastres 5, 10, 25, 50  first issued in 1968.

 - Coin of  LBP 1 first issued in 1975.

 - Coins of LBP 25 in 2002.

 - Coins of LBP 50 in 1996.

 - Coins of LBP 100, 250, 500 first issued in 1995.

14 denominations of banknotes at various points of time:

- LBP 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 first issued in 1964.

- LBP 250 first issued in 1978.

- LBP 500, 1,000 first issued  in 1988.

- LBP 10,000 first issued in 1993.

- LBP 5,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000 first issued in 1994.

iv) Current Lebanese Banknote Series:

All current Banknotes feature an Arabic side with the value in Arabic script numerals of large size. The other side is in French with the serial number in both Arabic and Latin script and in bar code below the latter one.

The following denominations are presently circulating:

1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000

v) A new Polymer 100,000 Pound/Lira Banknote issued by the Central Bank of Lebanon on 07.12.2020:

A new 100,000 pound Lebanese banknote will be brought into circulation on 07.12.2020, according to a statement by the Lebanese Central Bank.

The new design commemorates Lebanon’s centenary of the establishment of Greater Lebanon that was recognised on 01.09.1920:

The Five Provinces that constituted modern Lebanon came under French influence after the end of the First World War. This resulted from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire to which the territory was once part of for more than 400 years. 

The French mandate expanded the territory further, which resulted in greater numbers of very diverse communities and religious beliefs.  

During the Second World War, Lebanese elections were held in 1943, following which, on  08.11.1943, the new Lebanese government unilaterally abolished the French mandate to govern the country. 

As part of France was occupied by Germany, the Vichy government first arrested the new government and then under allied pressure released them all days later.

 Upon independence being declared in 1943, Lebanon established a unique confessionalist form of government. This government system was a de-jure mix of religious and party politics due to the diverse communities now living within the geopolitical state.

 Lebanon’s independence was finally recognised by the United Nations Charter’s ratification on the 24th October 1945, since Lebanon was, in fact, a founding member. 

The French mandate was declared legally terminated on that day, and the last French soldiers left the country in December 1946. 

The new Banknote:

The Header/Banner showing the Front & Back of the 100,000 Pound/Lira Banknote placed against a background image of the Raouche Rocks.

The Banknote is the same size as the one currently in circulation but has a new design with a green dominant color and is made out of polymer instead of paper.

On the Front of the 100,000 Polymer Banknote is depicted the Nejmeh Square, the location of the Lebanese Parliament in Central Beirut.

 At left, the historic monastery of St. Jan Marcus in Jbeil is illustrated.

A transparent Polymer Window is placed on the right half with a Cedar Tree in the middle.

On the Back of the 100,000 Polymer Banknote is depicts a theme of the Sea and shows the Raouche Rocks.

To the right of the rocks is an image of a Phoenician Ship. 

The Phoenicians were famed in antiquity for their ship-building skills and were credited with inventing the keel. 

Above the ship is the inclusion of the official anniversary logo comprising the numeral 100 (denoting the 100th Anniversary) and a Cedar Tree.

Produced by Poland’s Security Printing Works on behalf of the Banque du Liban, the primary security elements include:  

CINEMA — a new security feature has been applied to the new commemorative notes to make polymer banknotes even more secure. The application is seen on the front at the entrance to St. John’s Church and in the shape of an arch, which includes the numeral 100, depicts moving illustrations, and the years 1920 and 2020 when the note is tilted.  

for more information on the CINEMA security feature, please visit the following link:


Window — a transparent window in the shape of a cedar evergreen, which is also the national emblem of Lebanon, is placed on the right side and shows light imagery of the pine cedar within the shape. 
  
VIVID Colour — this security application transforms the cedar tree element from white to full colour when seen under UV Light. 
  
Tactile print — located on the upper-left and right corners on the face side, a series of five horizontal lines is included as a means of identifying the banknote by visually impaired persons. 

Watermark — embedded into the polymer substrate and positioned to the upper-right half, the numeral 100 can be seen as a watermark application when the note is held up to a light source.
 
The commemorative banknotes will circulate alongside the 2012-dated paper banknotes. 



(The above Banknote is from the collection of my friend Jayant Biswas who has scanned the images and sent them to me for compiling/writing this post)







Some other interesting links to posts on this blog on Currencies of the Middle-East:



5) i) A 50 Jordanian Dinar Banknote from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan ii) Other Banknotes from the 4th Series of Banknote issues from the Central Bank of Jordan




Some other interesting posts from the African Continent on this blog:







15) Archosauria (The Rise of the Dinosaurs): "Natura series" of Five Gold Coins from the "Palaeontology Collection": A set of Gold Coins brought out by the South african Mint in 2018

16) New Circulation coins Series, Kenya: introduced by the Central Bank of Kenya on 11.12.2018

17) Sudan: A 100 Pounds Banknote being issued by the Central Bank of Sudan by End February 2019

18) Algeria: i) Introduction of two new denominations of 500 and 1,000 Algerian Dinars (AD), which will kick-start the new "Fifth Series of Algerian Dinar Banknotes" ii) A 100 Algerian Dinar tri-metallic coin which wil replace the 100 Dinar circulating Banknote of the same denomination

19) South Africa: "The Big Five Silver Coin Series": 1) First Coin in the Series brought out by the South African Mint features the African Elephant on a Five Rand Coin as the first variant issued in 02/2019: 2) Later Coin issues will feature the Lion, Leopard, Rhinoceros and the Buffalo

20) 25 Years of Constitutional Democracy in South africa (SA25): Celebrating the milestone with the issue of six circulation coins (R2 five  coins & R5 one Coin) and three Commemorative Coins (Gold R500, Sterling Silver R50 & Bronze Alloy R50) issued by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) in partnership with the South African Mint: Coin release dats: 04/2019 & 05/2019

21) Dr. Tawhida Ben Chiekh (1910-2010), Tunisia: A new 10 Dinar Banknote issued by the "Banque Centrale de Tunisie" (Central Bank of Tunisia) honouring the pioneering doctor, who replaces Dido (Queen Elissa), the founder & first Queen of Carthage on the 10 Dinar Banknote: Date of Banknote issue: 27.03.2020









Divine Comedy Coin Series - Republic of Cameroon:



Other interesting posts from Israel:





18) Murals in Israel: A set of three stamps of the values of 4.10 NIS, 5.00 NIS and 6.50 NIS issued by Israel Postal Company (Israel Post): Date of Stamp set issue: 08.09.2020

19) Modern Jewish Art Mandalas, Israel: Stamps issued by Israel Postal Company (Israel Post) on three Blessings - Kingship (2.50 NIS), Remembrances (7.40 NIS), Shofar (8.30 NIS): Date of Stamp set issue: 08.09.2020







Birds of Israel Coin Series:



"Views of Jerusalem" Gold and Silver Bullion Coin Series:

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4 comments:

  1. coins and more13 March 2021 at 22:02

    Santosh Khanna has commented:
    "Very nice!!!"

    ReplyDelete
  2. coins and more13 March 2021 at 22:03

    Shishir Misra has commented:
    "Good to know that Lebanon in position to print new currency .
    Thanks; your blog is always enlightening."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. coins and more13 March 2021 at 22:04

      Thank you, Sir. They are undergoing hyperinflation. Their currency is not doing very well.

      Delete