A worn, but decorative coin from the Eastern Mediterranean.

Syria

(Map highlighting Syria. From Wikipedia).

Syria is in Western Asia on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Moving clockwise, the country is bordered by Türkiye, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon. The country is 185,000 km2 (nearly 115,000 mi2), with a population of 17 million.

The capital city, Damascus, is the oldest inhabited capital city in the world, in the “Cradle of Civilization“. This list of ten of the oldest, continuously inhabited cities spans from Iran to Bulgaria, with Syria in the centre. Inhabited for over 10,000 years, Damascus has been an important city for much of its life. The city is mentioned in the Bible, from Genesis 14:15 & 15:2 at the beginning of the Old Testament, to the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament. Damascus was where Saul went to persecute Christians, but was instead dramatically converted to faith himself, on the road to the city (Acts 9:2). This is the origin of the phrase “Road to Damascus moment” referring to a sudden and complete change of heart.

Syria contains many important historical sites, having been controlled by Alexander the Great, the Romans, Byzantines, Caliphate, Crusader kingdoms and the Ottoman Empire.

(Ancient city of Palmyra. From SyriaTimes.sy).

Following World War I, the League of Nations was formed. A predecessor of the modern United Nations. The League of Nations was also in charge of supervising the Mandate system. The “mandated territories” were former German colonies and Ottoman territories placed under what the Covenant called the “tutelage” of mandatory powers until they could become independent states. The League granted France a mandate over Syria and Lebanon. This lasted until the 1940s, during WWII, with the last French troops leaving on 17 April, 1946, over two years after the former colonial power recognised Syrian independence. The French followed this by completing their withdrawal from Lebanon in December, bringing an end to the French colonial presence in the Levant. Syrian Independence day, also called “Evacuation Day” is celebrated on April 17 each year.

Today Syria is officially called the Syrian Arab Republic. Years of conflict, civil war and international sanctions have severely strained the economy. However, sanctions are being gradually eased to facilitate recovery.

Obverse

The 1935 5 Qirsh / Piastres was issued during the French Mandate period. The coin itself was issued from 1926 – 1940, although only in 1926, 33, 35, 36 and 1940, with the majority being issued 1933-6. The coin is 23mm Diameter, aluminium-bronze, weighing 3.9 grams. It was minted at the Monnaie de Paris.

The obverse features a decorative design around the edge, with the French text “ETAT DE SYRIE” split above and below, the date in Arabic & Latin and the country name in Arabic in the centre.

Reverse

The reverse features the denomination, “Cinq Piastres” in French above and Arabic below, with the numeral 5 in Latin and Arabic, divided by sprigs of oat.

Qirsh / Piastres?

So how does the coin come to have two denominations in the title? In French we have the denomination written as “Cinq Piastres” – 5 Piastres. In Arabic, in the denomination, “خمسة غروش”, “piastres” translates as “Qirsh”.

My example is pitted, but still the original design shines through. What is your favourite pattern on a coin? I quite like the way the edge pattern pulls the whole coin together on this one. Looking back through coins I have posted, I also like the design on this Thai coin, and the waves on the Japanese 4 Mon. Let us know your favourite.