Syria

Arab Kingdom of Syria (1919-1920), Federation of Syria (1922-1925), Syrian State (1925-1931, 1939-1941), Republic of Syria (1931-1939, 1941-1958), Syrian Arab Republic (1961-present)

Unrecognized state (1919-1920, 1943-1946), French Mandate (1922-1943), Independent State (1946-1958, 1961-present)

Location: Levant

Capital City: Dmascus

Government type: Constitutional Monarchy (1919-1920), French League of Nations Mandate (1922-1943), Republic (1943-1963, 2024-present), Ba'athist Republic (1963-2024)

Main languages: Arabic, Kurdish

Main religions: Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, Eastern Christianity

Chronology

1919: Kingdom of Syria proclaimed independent from the collapsing Ottoman Empire

1920: France takes over Syria under mandate from the League of Nations, splitting it into the states of Aleppo, Damascus, Jabal al-Druze, and the Alawite State

1922: Aleppo and Damascus united into the Syrian Federation

1936: Alawite State and Jabal al-Druze added to Syria

1940-1941: Aligned with Vichy France

1941-1946: British/Free French occupation

1943: Independence from France

1946: Independence recognized by France

1958: United with Egypt as the United Arab Republic

1961: Independence restored

1963: Ba'athists take power

2011-2024: Syrian civil war, leading to the end of the Ba'athist regime

Currency

Dinar (1920)

First Pound (1920-2026)

1 Pound = 100 Qirsh

Second Pound (2026-present)

1 Pound = 100 Qirsh

Coins from Syria in the collection

French Mandate/s (1920-1943)

•1/2 Qirsh, 1921 (cupronickel, Paris mint, KM#68)

•2 Qirsh, 1926 (aluminum bronze, Paris mint, KM#69)

First Republic (1943-1958)

•2.5 Qirsh, 1948 (cupronickel, Heaton Mint (Birmingham), KM#81)

•10 Qirsh, 1948 (cupronickel, Heaton Mint and Kings Norton Mint (Birmingham), KM#83)

•10 Qirsh, 1956 (cupronickel, Lahore mint, KM#83)

•1 Pound, 1950 (silver (.680), KM#85)

Ba'athist Republic (1963-2024)

•5 Qirsh, 1976 (brass, Karlsruhe mint, KM#110) Commemorative: FAO

•25 Qirsh, 1968 (nickel, Sherrit Mint (Fort Saskatchewan), KM#96)

•50 Qirsh, 1968 (nickel, Sherrit Mint (Fort Saskatchewan), KM#97)

•50 Qirsh, 1979 (cupronickel, VDM Metals (Werdohl, Germany), KM#119)

•1 Pound, 1968 (nickel, Sherrit Mint (Fort Saskatchewan), KM#99) Commemorative: FAO

•1 Pound, 1968 (nickel, KM#98)

•1 Pound, 1979 (cupronickel, VDM Metals (Werdohl, Germany), KM#120.1)

•2 Pound, 1996 (nickel-plated steel, Paris mint, KM#125)

•5 Pound, 1996 (cupronickel, Paris mint, KM#123)

•10 Pound, 2003 (nickel brass, Llantrisant mint, KM#130)

•25 Pound, 1995 (stainless steel center in aluminum bronze ring, Paris mint, KM#122) Commemorative: 25th Anniversary of Hafez al-Assad's Coup

•25 Pound, 1996 (stainless steel center in aluminum bronze ring, Paris mint, KM#126)

Banknotes from Syria in the collection

Ba'athist Republic (1963-2024)

•100 Pound, 1978 (P#104)

•200 Pound, 2009 (P#114)