Encyclopedia of Syrian Paper Currency<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nPublisher: Dar Al Murad, 2005, Beirut, Lebanon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe economic standing of modern states is determined by the standing of their currency, especially paper currency, as it reflects their cultural identity and artistic heritage, and above all, their awareness of the need to prove their existence in an era of astonishingly rapid developments. This existence is meant to remain untouched and undiminished, just as the currency itself is meant to be.\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\nThese statements appear in the introduction to researcher Adnan Jarwa's book, "Encyclopedia of Syrian Banknotes," which earned him the International Banknote Association's award for best book on currency and money for 2006. He presented a unique and comprehensive collection of Syrian banknotes of various denominations and issuance dates, arranged chronologically from the early 20th century and the French Mandate period to the modern era of Syria.<\/p>\n
The difficulties that Adnan Jarwa faced in finding old and rare banknotes were almost impossible. Likewise, delving into the field of money itself is thorny and complex and requires extensive research in several sources, despite their scarcity, \u201cwhether foreign or Arab.\u201d.<\/p>\n
Professor Adnan stated, \u201dThis individual project has been the result of eight years of diligent work and strenuous effort, interspersed with periods of difficulty, especially since the failure to store banknotes in good conditions caused them to become distorted and deteriorate significantly.\u201d. Other categories were not available due to the replacement, withdrawal, cancellation, or destruction of paper currency at that time, in accordance with the issuance of decisions to that effect.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nThis forced the researcher to stand up to all the challenges by insisting on completing what he had started by launching a campaign of numerous and extensive correspondence and communications and many trips to various countries around the world to visit specialized libraries.<\/span><\/p>\nThe encyclopedia contains 200 different rare and contemporary banknotes, arranged with their images and information according to their issuance year and denomination. These banknotes represent 49 issues of Syrian paper currency (1919-1998). It also includes a large number of experimental banknotes and international reference models of Syrian banknotes, in addition to historical overviews of the designs and watermarks on the banknotes, dozens of decrees, laws, and resolutions that preceded the currency issues, and various glossaries, tables, and data.<\/p>\n\n\n