Syrian pound

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"SYP" redirects here. For other uses, see SYP (disambiguation).
Syrian pound
الليرة السورية (Arabic)
100 Syrian pound banknote
ISO 4217 code SYP
Central bank Central Bank of Syria
 Website Banque Centrale Syria
User(s)  Syria
Inflation 59.1%
 Source The World Factbook, 2013 est.
 1/100 piastre
Coins 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 pounds
Banknotes 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 pounds

The Syrian pound (sign: LS or £S; Arabic: الليرة السورية al-līra as-sūriyya, French: livre syrienne; ISO code: SYP) is the currency of Syria and is issued by the Central Bank of Syria. The pound is subdivided into 100 qirsh (Arabic: قرش plural: قروش, qorush, piastres in English or French), although coins in qirsh are no longer issued.




During the period when Syria was a part of Ottoman Empire - which lasted about 400 years - the Ottoman lira was the currency. Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the placing of Syria under a mandate (French Occupation), the Egyptian pound was used in the territories under French and British mandates, including Lebanon, Transjordan and Palestine. Upon taking Lebanon and Syria under its separate mandate, the French government sought to replace 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 states under its new mandate.

The pound (or livre as it was then known) was introduced in 1919 and was pegged at a value of 20 French francs[citation needed]. 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 Grand-Liban (BSL). The BSL issued the Lebanese-Syrian currency for 15 years, starting in 1924. Two years before the expiration of the 15-year period, the BSL split the Lebanese-Syrian currency into two separate currencies that could still be used interchangeably in either state. In 1939, the bank was renamed the Banque de Syrie et du Liban.

In 1941, the peg to the French franc was replaced by a peg to the British pound of 8.83125 Syrian pounds = 1 British pound, as a consequence of the occupation of Syria by British and Free French forces. This rate was based on the pre-war conversion rate between the franc and sterling. In 1946, following devaluation of the franc, the Syrian pound was pegged once again to the franc at a rate of 1 pound = 54.35 francs. In 1947, the U.S. dollar was adopted as the peg for the Syrian currency, with 2.19148 pounds = 1 dollar, a rate which was maintained until 1961. The Lebanese and Syrian currencies split in 1948. From 1961, a series of official exchange rates were in operation, alongside a parallel, black market rate which reflected the true market rate for Syrian pounds in Jordan and Lebanon where there was a healthy trade in the Syrian currency. The market was allowed to flourish because everybody, including government and public sector companies, needed it. The black market rate diverged dramatically from the official rate in the 1980s. [1]


In 1921, cupro-nickel ½ qirsh coins were introduced, followed in 1926 by aluminium bronze 2 and 5 qirsh. In 1929, holed, nickel-brass 1 qirsh and silver 10, 25 and 50 qirsha were introduced. Nickel-brass ½ qirsh were introduced 1935, followed by zinc 1 qirsh and aluminium-bronze 2½ qirsh in 1940. During the Second World War, brass 1 qirsh and aluminium 2½ qirsh emergency coins were issued. These pieces were crudely produced and undated.

A new coinage was introduced between 1947 and 1948 in denominations of 2½, 5, 10, 25 and 50 qirsha and 1 pound, with the 2½, 5 and 10 qirush struck in cupro-nickel and the others in silver. Aluminium-bronze replaced cupro-nickel in 1960, with nickel replacing silver in 1968. In 1996, following high inflation, new coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 25 pounds, with the 25 pounds a bimetallic coin. In 2003 5, 10, and 25 pound coins were issued, with latent images.


Syrian pound sice 1982

In 1919, the Banque de Syrie introduced notes for 5, 25 and 50 qirsha, 1 and 5 livres. These were followed, in 1920, by notes for 1 qirsh and 10, 25, 50 and 100 livres. In 1925, the Banque de Syrie et du Grand-Liban began issuing notes and production of denominations below 25 qirsha ceased. Notes below 1 livre were not issued from 1930. In 1939, the issuing body again changed its name, to the Banque de Syrie et du Liban.

Between 1942 and 1944, the government introduced notes for 5, 10, 25 and 50 qirsha. In the early 1950s, undated notes were issued by the Institut d'Emission de Syrie in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 livres, followed by notes dated 1955 for 10 and 25 livres. The Banque Centrale de Syrie took over paper money issuance in 1957, issuing the same denominations as the Institut d'Emission.

In 1958, the French language was removed from Syrian banknotes and replaced by English. Notes were issued for 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 500 pounds. In 1966, the design of the 25, 50, and 100 pound notes was changed. In 1976 and 1977, the designs changed for all the denominations except the 500-pound note. In 1997 and 1998, a new series of notes was introduced in denominations of 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 pounds, with the lower denominations replaced by coins. In 2009, the 50, 100, and 200 pound notes were changed with an entirely new design.[2] In 2014 a new 500 pound note has been released.

50 pounds
50 SYP obverse.jpg50 SYP reverse.jpg
Arabic obverse: Citadel of Aleppo and the Norias of Hama. English reverse: al-Assad National Library and the Abbasiyyin Stadium.
100 pounds
Arabic obverse: Philip the Arab and the Roman theatre of Bosra. English reverse: The Hejaz Train Station of Damascus.
200 pounds
200 SYP obverse.jpg200 SYP reverse.jpg
Arabic obverse: Statue of Saladin and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Damascus. English reverse: Cotton weaving; energy plant
500 pounds
500 SYP obverse.jpg500 SYP reverse.jpg
Arabic obverse: Zenobia and the columns of Palmyra. English reverse: Tabqa Dam.
1000 pounds
1000 SYP obverse.jpg1000 SYP reverse.jpg
Arabic obverse: former president Hafez al-Assad and the Umayyad Mosque. English reverse: Oil industry of Syria, combine harvester, ship.

2010 series[edit]

On July 27, 2010, the Central Bank of Syria issued a new series of banknotes dated 2009 in denominations of 50-, 100-, and 200 pounds. The notes were designed by Austrian banknote designer Robert Kalina.[3] In 2014 the Central Bank of Syria issued the new 500 pounds.

50 pounds
100 pounds
200 pounds
500 pounds

Use of 10 Syrian pound coins in Norway[edit]

The Norwegian 20 kroner coin compared to the Syrian 10 pound coin.

The shape of the 10 Syrian pound coin has been found to so resemble the 20 Norwegian krone coin that it can fool vending machines, coins-to-cash machines, arcade machines, and any other coin-operated, automated service machine in the country. While hardly similar to the naked eye, machines are unable to tell the coins apart due to an almost identical weight and size.

As of February 1, 2014, ten Syrian pounds converts to 0.44 Norwegian kroner. 20 NOK is over 45.4 times the value of the Syrian coin. While not easy to find in Norway, the Syrian coins are still used in automated machines there with such frequency that Posten Norge, the Norwegian postal service, decided to close many of their coins-to-cash machines on February 18, 2006, with plans to develop a system able to differentiate between the two coins. In the summer of 2005, a Norwegian man was sentenced to 30 days, suspended, for having used Syrian coins in arcade machines in the municipality of Bærum.[4]

Current SYP exchange rates

See also[edit]


  1. ^ Syria: The businessman can't play his hand Euromoney May 1986.
  2. ^ Linzmayer, Owen (2013). "Syria". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: 
  3. ^ Syria new 50-, 100-, and 200-pound notes confirmed July 27, 2010. Retrieved on 2013-02-19.
  4. ^ Andersen, Øystein (2006-02-18). "Myntsvindlere herjer i Oslo". Dagbladet (in Norwegian) (DB Medialab AS). Retrieved 2008-03-08. 


External links[edit]