10 pounds 1996, copper-nickel, weight - 7 g., size - 26,4 mm, thickness - 1,78 mm, mintage - unknown.
So, what's the story with these modern Syrian coins? Are they valuable, common etc? What do you like about them? I don't know anything about this coinage
The heraldic bird on modern Syrian coins, for example, is not an eagle. Syria uses the "Hawk of Quraish". And of course you are welcome to do some research and report your results here. Christian
Sorry, I just never came in a forum without something initially said. But there's nothing wrong with a very open-ended post
Many "CoinTalkers" like to share parts of their collection, or show new acquisitions, by posting those pictures. Some may write a comprehensive "story" about a coin, others just put the image here. Eugene ("Siberian Man") usually picks a country, or a theme, and provides some info about each coin he shows. We all have different approaches, and as you wrote, none of them is right or wrong. Christian
That's an interesting point, because this hawk is found in similar form on ancient coins, long before any historical mention of the Quraish tribe, and certainly long before Islam. On ancient coins it is always described as an eagle. So the question is: was the eagle design appropriated as the Hawk of Quraish at a later time? Or has it always been a hawk, and do we collectors of ancients need to revise our descriptions?
No need for a revision, I think. In ancient Greek and Roman times it was usually the eagle that was used as a symbol of power (or even divinity). Now heraldic birds are often abstracted to a high degree. How do we know, for example, that this ... ... is an eagle? Because the law says so. (This is a German eagle from a collector coin.) So if we know, from customs and traditions, or laws and constitutions, that the bird on coins from XYZ is an eagle, then it's an eagle. Right, eagles, falcons and hawks have been used in the Arabic world too, long before the Hijra. But if in Egypt for example the official national emblem is described as the Eagle of Saladin, then I accept that of course. And if Syrian law says that their emblem is the Hawk of Quraish, well ... One difference is that the eagle looks to the left (from the viewer's POV) while the hawk looks to the right. Well, that works for Egypt and Syria; unfortunately there are exceptions. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Eagle_of_Saladin http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Hawk_of_Quraish Christian
Here is a coin minted only in 1921. After WWI, the San Remo Conference proposed that the League of Nations put Syria under a French mandate. Syrians fiercely resisted this arrangement for 15 years, until the French finally capitulated. A treaty of independence was signed in 1936, initiating the modern republic of Syria. This coin is in pretty decent shape for the type - I'm thinking EF. Syria, 1921 1/2 Piastre, Cu-Ni, 21mm, 3.9g, 1.42mm, 6h; mintage: 4,000,000. Obv.: Value within roped wreath, flaked by oat sprigs, date at bottom. Rev.: Value within wreath; BANQUE DE SYRIE / 1/2 PIASTRE SYRIENNE / 1921. Edge: Smooth. KM 68, Numista rarity index 28.
Thanks for sharing your Syrian coins. I recently saw coin albums for Syria, Jordan and Iraq at a coin store near where I live. I think the Syrian album was this one: You can find it at www.arabiancoins.com
Syria under the French mandate. 1 piastre/ 1 Qirsh 1936, nickel-brass, weoght - 5 g., size - 24 mm, thickness - 1,4 mm, mintage - 1400000 pcs. Engravers: Henri-Auguste Patey & Lucien Georges Bazor (obverse) and Henri-Auguste Patey (reverse - face value). Such coins were released at 1929, 1933, 1935 and 1936.
