Lebanon 1961 25 piastres
This specimen was lot 45262 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Costa Mesa, CA, August 2021), where it sold for $60. The catalog description[1] noted, "LEBANON. 25 Piastres, 1961. Bern Mint; mm: Caduceus. PCGS MS-67 Gold Shield. Blazing mint luster, with orange-gold toning is especially intense on the reverse. Tied for the finest certified by PCGS. The Cedars Collection of Lebanese Coinage, 1924-1961." This specimen was issued by Lebanon as a regular issue for one year only. Similar types were issued in other metals up to 1975. In 1980, 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, 23.3 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-16.2.
- 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 August 2021 ANA sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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