Lebanon 1955 2-1/2 piastres
This specimen was lot 72152 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, June 2021), where it sold for $90. The catalog description[1] noted, "LEBANON. 2-1/2 Piastres, 1955. Paris Mint. PCGS MS-65 Gold Shield. Slightly mirrored and prooflike, this radiant Gem certainly presents a great deal of eye appeal and is likely one of the finest that one is going to encounter." This specimen was issued by Lebanon as a regular issue for 1955 only. Similar types were issued in other metals up to 1980. In 1980, a vicious war broke out between Christian and Muslim militias and soon the Israeli and Syrian armies were occupying various parts of that unhappy land. The cedar is the symbol of Lebanon, once forested with this handsome tree.
Recorded mintage: 5,000,000.
Specification: aluminum bronze, 2.0 g, 20 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 20.
- 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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