Lebanon 1940 5 piastres
This specimen was lot 72135 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, June 2021), where it sold for $240. The catalog description[1] noted, "LEBANON. 5 Piastres, 1940. Paris Mint. PCGS MS-64 Gold Shield. Emanating from the final year of issue for the type, this dazzlingly brilliant near-Gem fully engages the eye and is among the finest observed at PCGS." The area of Lebanon was taken from Ottoman control after World War I, and placed under French mandate along with Syria. It was declared the Etat du Gran Liban in 1920. This type was struck in 1925, 1931, 1933, 1936 and 1940. This date was struck in Paris as the Third Republic crumbled under Nazi attack.
Recorded mintage: 1,000,000, the most common date.
Specification: 4.10 g, aluminum bronze.
Catalog reference: KM-5.2; Lec-31.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The June 2021 Collector's Choice sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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