Lebanese pound

Short description: Currency of Lebanon

Lebanese pound

* ليرة لبنانية (Arabic)
* Livre libanaise (French)

LL 1,000 note, using Arabic on the obverse and French on the reverse

ISO 4217
Code| LBP (numeric: 422)
Subunit| 0.01
Symbol| None official. The abbreviation LL or ل.ل. is used
Denominations
Subunit|
​1⁄100| piastre
Banknotes| LL 1,000, LL 5,000, LL 10,000, LL 20,000, LL 50,000, LL 100,000
Coins| LL 250, LL 500
Demographics
User(s)|  Lebanon
Issuance
Central bank| Banque du Liban
Website| www.bdl.gov.lb
Valuation
Inflation| 90% (+)
Source| The Global Economy, 2020
Pegged with| U.S. dollar[1]
note

note Dual exchange rate system (Sayrafa) in effect as of June 2021

The pound or lira[lower-alpha 1] is the currency of Lebanon. It was formerly divided into 100 piastres (or qirsh in Arabic) but, because of high inflation during the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), subunits were discontinued.

The plural of lira is either lirat (ليرات līrāt) or invariant, whilst there are four forms for qirsh: the dual qirshān (قرشان) used with number 2, the plural qurush (قروش) used with numbers 3–10, the accusative singular qirshan (قرشًا) used with 11–99, and the genitive singular qirsh (قرش) used with multiples of 100. The number determines which plural form is used. All of Lebanon's coins and banknotes are bilingual in Arabic and French.

From December 1997 through January 2023, the exchange rate was fixed at LL 1,507.50 per United States dollar .[4] However, since the 2020 economic crisis in Lebanon, exchange at this rate was generally unavailable, and an informal currency market developed with much higher exchange rates.[5] On 1 February 2023, the Central Bank reset the currency peg at LL 15,000 per US dollar.[6] By mid-March 2023, the "parallel market" rate had fallen to LL 100,000 per dollar.[7]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Coins
* 3 Banknotes
* 4 Devaluation
* 4.1 Lollar
* 5 See also
* 6 Notes
* 7 References
* 8 External links

## History

Until World War I, the Turkish pound was the currency used in the area. In 1918, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Egyptian pound was used. Upon gaining control of Syria and Lebanon, the France replaced the Egyptian pound with a new currency for Syria and Lebanon, the Syrian pound, which was linked to the franc at a value of LS 1 = 20 F. Lebanon issued its own coins from 1924 and banknotes from 1950.[citation needed] In 1939, the Lebanese currency was officially separated from that of Syria, though it was still linked to the French franc and remained interchangeable with Syrian money. In 1941, following France's defeat by Nazi Germany, the currency was linked instead to sterling at a rate of LL 8.83 = GBP1.00[8] A link to the French franc was restored after the war, but was abandoned in 1949.

Before the third phase of the Lebanese Civil War, United States dollar 1 was worth:

* LL 3.07 in 1965
* LL 3.26 in 1970
* LL 2.25 in 1975
* about LL 4 in 1981

In 1986, the pound began falling against the dollar. On 13 June, a dollar was worth LL 36.50. Two weeks later, it was worth LL 47.[9]

* LL 500 in 1987[10]
* LL 900 in December 1989[11]

During the Civil War, the currency depreciated rapidly until 1992, when one US dollar was worth over LL 2,500. Subsequently, the government attempted to peg the currency: from December 1997 until February 2023,[12] the official rate was fixed at LL 1,507.50 = USD1.00[4]

In August 2019, due to the increasing supply of Lebanese pounds in the economy, pressure on the fixed exchange rate with the US dollar started, creating a parallel market rate.[citation needed] In March 2021, the black market rate in Beirut was LL 10,000 = USD1.00[13] By July 2021, it was around LL 24,000 to the dollar.[14] On 18 March 2023, the value of the Lebanese pound dropped in the black market to LL 111,000 against the US dollar, its lowest value ever.[15]

On 10 May 2021, the Lebanese Central Bank (BDL) announced the launch of the "Sayrafa" platform, an electronic platform intended to record all Lebanese Pounds foreign exchange transactions and identify the exchange rates at any point in time.[16] The platform was launched in June 2021 and became the official USD-to-lira exchange rate for all credit card transactions on 1 February 2022.[17] In March 2023, the Sayrafa exchange rate became 43% less than the unofficial, black market rate.[18]

United States dollar to Lebanese Lira exchange rate

## Coins

Lebanon's first coins were issued in 1924 in denominations of 2 and 5 piastres (p). Later issues did not include the word "syriennes" and were in denominations of ​1⁄2p, 1p, 2p, ​2 1⁄2p, 5p, 10p, 25p and 50p. During World War II, rather crudely made ​1⁄2p, 1p and ​2 1⁄2p coins were issued. Before the war all coins were minted in Paris.[19]

After the war, the Arabic spelling was changed from girsh (غرش) to qirsh (قرش). Coins were issued in the period 1952 to 1986 in denominations of 1p, ​2 1⁄2p, 5p, 10p, 25p, 50p and LL 1\. No coins were issued between 1986 and 1994, when the current series of coins was introduced.

Coins in current use are:[20]

Coins of the Lebanese pound

Image | Value | Technical parameters | Colour | Date of
issue
Obverse | Reverse | Diameter | Thickness | Mass | Metal
Coins no longer in circulation[21] | 100px  | 100px  | 5p  |  |  |  | Aluminium-bronze  |  | 1924
| 100px  | 100px  | 5p  |  |  |  | Aluminium-bronze  |  | 1925
1931
1933
1936
1940
| 100px  | 100px  | 50p  |  |  | 10 g  | Silver  |  | 1929
1933
1938
|  |  | 5p  | 18 mm  |  | 2.2 g  | Copper-nickel-aluminium  | Golden yellow  | 1968
1969
1972
1975
100px  | 100px  | 10p  | 21 mm  |  | 3.2 g  | Copper-nickel-aluminium  | Golden yellow  | 1968
1969
1970
1972
1975  | 100px  | 100px  | 25p  | 23.5 mm  |  | 4 g  | Nickel-brass  | Golden yellow  | 1968
1969
1970
1972
1975
1980  | 100px  | 100px  | 50p  | 24 mm  |  | 6 g  | Nickel  | White nickel  | 1968
1969
1970
1971
1975
1978
1980  |  |  | LL 1  | 27.5 mm  |  | 8 g  | Nickel  | White nickel  | 1975
1977
1980
1981  |  |  | 27 mm  |  | 7.22 g  | Nickel-plated steel  | White nickel  | 1986
Coins in circulation[20] |  |  | LL 25  | 20.5 mm  | 1.3 mm  | 2.8 g  | Nickel-plated steel  | White nickel  | 2002
100px  | 100px  | LL 50  | 19 mm  | 1.15 mm  | 2.25 g  | Stainless steel  | White nickel  | 1996  |  |  | LL 50  | 21.5 mm  | 1.67 mm  | 3g  | Nickel-plated steel  | 2006  |  |  | LL 100  | 22.5 mm  | 1.80 mm  | 4 g  | Zinc and copper  | Red copper  | 1995
1996
2000
|  | LL 100  | 22.5 mm  | 1.83 mm  | 4 g  | Steel and nickel  | White  | 2003  |  |  | LL 100  | 22.5 mm  | 1.80 mm
1.60 mm  | 4 g  | Steel and copper  | Red copper  | 2006
2009  |  |  | LL 250  | 23.5 mm  | 1.82 mm  | 5 g  | Copper and aluminium  | Yellow gold  | 1995
1996
2000
2003  |  |  | 1.65 mm  | Nordic Gold | Nordic Gold  | 2006
2009
2012  |  |  | LL 500  | 24.5 mm  | 2.05 mm  | 6 g  | Nickel-plated steel  | White  | 1995
1996
2000
2003
2006
2009
2012

By January 2023, the only coins in use are the 250- and 500-pound ones. The other lower-value coins are worthless now due to hyperinflation.

## Banknotes

LL 100 note of the 1964 series

Lebanon's first banknotes were issued by the Banque de Syrie et du Grand-Liban (Bank of Syria and Greater Lebanon) in 1925. Denominations ran from 25 piastres through to LL 100\. In 1939, the bank's name was changed to the Bank of Syria and Lebanon. The first LL 250 notes appeared that year. Between 1942 and 1950, the government issued "small change" notes in denominations of 5p, 10p, 25p and 50p. After 1945, the Bank of Syria and Lebanon continued to issue paper money for Lebanon, but the notes were denominated specifically in "Lebanese pounds" (ليرة لبنانية, livre libanaise) to distinguish them from Syrian notes. Notes for LL 1, LL 5, LL 10, LL 25, LL 50 and LL 100 were issued.

The Banque du Liban (Bank of Lebanon) was established by the Code of Money and Credit on 1 April 1964.[22] On 1 August 1963 decree No. 13.513 of the "Law of References: Banque Du Liban 23 Money and Credit" granted the Bank of Lebanon the sole right to issue notes in denominations of LL 1, LL 5, LL 10, LL 25, LL 50, LL 100, and LL 250, expressed in Arabic on the front, and French on the back. Higher denominations were issued in the 1980s and 1990s as inflation drastically reduced the currency's value.

Banknotes in current use are:

Circulating banknotes[23]

Image | Value | Dimensions | Main colour | Date of issue
Obverse | Reverse |  |  |  |
|  | LL 1,000  | 156 × 67 mm  | Teal  | 1988
1990
1991
1992
100px  | 100px  | 115 × 60 mm  | 2011

2012

100px  | 100px  | 2004

2008

|  | LL 5,000  | 156 × 67 mm  | Pink  | 1994
1995
|  | 140 × 70 mm  | 1999
2001
|  | 120 × 62 mm  | 2004
2008
|  | 2012
|  | LL 10,000  | 145 × 73 mm  | Yellow  | 1998
|  | 127 × 66 mm  | 2004
2008
|  | 2012
|  | LL 20,000  | 150 × 80 mm  | Red  | 1994
1995
2001
|  | 130 × 72 mm  | 2004
|  | 2012
|  | LL 50,000  | 150 × 80 mm  | Blue  | 1994
1995
1999
2001
|  | 140 × 77 mm  | 2004
|  | 2011
2012
|  | LL 100,000  | 161 × 90 mm  | Green  | 1994
1995
1999
2001
|  | 147 × 82 mm  | 2004
|  | 2011
2012

All current notes have a French side, which uses Western Arabic numerals, and a Modern Standard Arabic side, which uses Eastern Arabic numerals. The French side has a serial numbers written in two ways: one is in Arabic script and Eastern Arabic numerals, and the other is in the Latin script and Western Arabic numerals.

## Devaluation

Main page: Finance:Lebanese liquidity crisis

Since September 2019, the exchange rate had forked into multiple distinct rates due to Lebanon's banking sector collapse. Within six months, five distinct Lebanese pound rates were defined against the US dollar, officially and unofficially. They were valued at:

* Official rate = 15,000 (February 2023). From December 1997 through January 2023, the exchange rate was fixed at LL 1,507.50 per United States dollar .[4] That official rate had been pegged for over 25 years, but since Lebanon's financial crisis of 2019 it became effectively obsolete. The official rate was increased by a multiple of 9.95 on 1 February 2023 as per decision of the central bank to reach LL 15,000 per USD.[24]
* Lebanon's Central Bank's "Sayrafa" rate = LL 86,400 (May 2023).[25] The Sayrafa rate is the rate the central bank redeems international credit and debit card payments.
* "Lollar" (bank withdrawals of US$ in LL) = LL 15,000.[citation needed]
* Parallel market rate = LL 100,000 (March 2023).[26]

The parallel (or black) market rate is significantly higher than the official exchange rate.

### Lollar

The "lollar" is a deposit denominated in United States dollar in the Lebanese banking system. It is a nominal balance stuck or frozen in the Lebanese banks, with currency value simply as a computer entry. The lollar is not a tangible currency, but is a concept of an outstanding deposit in US dollars in Lebanese banks that can only be withdrawn in Lebanese pounds at a very reduced set rate[27] and considerably lower than the highly speculative black market rate, which is multiple times higher. There are also limits put on the total amount that can be withdrawn on the lollars.[28] The term was coined by Harvard University economic fellow Dan Azzi[29] after the Lebanese banks suffered serious difficulties and restricted the amount of US dollars and other foreign currencies they could pay to their depositors.

## See also

* Economy of Lebanon

## Notes

1. ↑ Arabic: ليرة لبنانية; French: livre libanaise; abbreviation: LL[2] in Latin, ل.ل. in Arabic, historically also £L,[3] ISO code: LBP

## References

1. ↑ "About Banque du Liban | History of Banque du Liban". http://www.bdl.gov.lb/pages/index/1/237/History.html.
2. ↑ "World Bank Editorial Style Guide 2020 - page 136". https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/33367/33304.pdf?sequence=4.
3. ↑ "Lebanon". CIA World Factbook 1990 - page 178. 1 April 1990. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_World_Factbook_(1990)/Lebanon. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Economic & Financial Data". Banque du Liban. http://www.bdl.gov.lb/edata/elements.asp?Table=t5282usd.
5. ↑ "Lebanese banks raise USD withdrawal rate to 3,850 pounds/dollar" (in en). Reuters. 29 June 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lebanon-crisis-banks/lebanese-banks-raise-usd-withdrawal-rate-to-3850-pounds-dollar-idUSKBN2401WS.
6. ↑ "Lebanon devalues official exchange rate by 90%". Reuters. February 1, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/lebanon-sharply-devalues-official-exchange-rate-central-bank-says-2023-02-01/.
7. ↑ "Lebanon's currency value plunges to 100,000 against US dollar". Al Jazeera. 14 March 2023. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/3/14/lebanons-currency-value-plunges-to-100000-against-the-dollar.
8. ↑ "Payment Media, Banknotes and Coins – The Historical Development of the Lebanese Pound". Banque du Liban. http://www.bdl.gov.lb/paysys/lbp/banknote.htm.
9. ↑ Middle East International No 277,278, 13,27 June 1986 Publishers Lord Mayhew, Dennis Walters MP; Jim Muir pp.4-6,7-8. Muir uses the words 'unthinkable' & 'incredible'.
10. ↑ Middle East International No 315, 19 December 1987; Jim Muir pp.6-7
11. ↑ Middle East International No 291, 9 January 1989; Jim Muir p.4
12. ↑ "Lebanon devalues official exchange rate by 90%" (in en). Reuters. 2023-02-01. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/lebanon-sharply-devalues-official-exchange-rate-central-bank-says-2023-02-01/.
13. ↑ "Protesters shut down roads as Lebanon pound hits all-time low" (in en). 2021-03-03. https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20210303-protesters-shut-down-roads-as-lebanon-pound-hits-all-time-low.
14. ↑ Lebanon currency drops to new low as financial meltdown deepens
15. ↑ Kareem Chehayeb (26 May 2022). "Value of Lebanese pound drops to all-time low". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/26/lebanese-pound-value-drops-to-lowest-level.
16. ↑ "BDL circular on the "Sayrafa" Platform". 11 May 2021. https://melkilawfirm.com/latest-news/bdl-circular-on-the-sayrafa-platform/.
17. ↑ "Sayrafa rate becomes standard transaction rate for international, fresh dollar cards used in Lebanon". 2 February 2022. https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1289574/sayrafa-rate-becomes-standard-transaction-rate-for-international-fresh-dollar-cards-used-in-lebanon.html.
18. ↑ "Value of Lebanese pound drops to all-time low". https://lbprate.com/.
19. ↑ ‘’2008 Standard Catalog of World Coins 1901-2000’’. ISBN:978-0-89689-3 pp.1348-1349
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Coins in Circulation". Banque du Liban. http://www.bdl.gov.lb/tabs/index/2/265/Coins-in-Circulation.html.
21. ↑ "Coins Out of Circulation". Banque du Liban. https://www.bdl.gov.lb/tabs/index/2/228/Coins-out-of-Circulation.html.
22. ↑ Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "Lebanon". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com. http://www.banknotebook.com.
23. ↑ "Banknotes in Circulation". Banque du Liban. http://www.bdl.gov.lb/tabs/index/2/275/Banknotes-in-Circulation-.html.
24. ↑ Gebeily, Maya (2023-02-01). "Lebanon devalues official exchange rate by 90%". Reuters (Beirut). https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/lebanon-sharply-devalues-official-exchange-rate-central-bank-says-2023-02-01/.
25. ↑ "Press Room". https://www.bdl.gov.lb/news/more/8/1055/251.
26. ↑ "Lebanon's currency value plunges to 100,000 against US dollar" (in en). https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/3/14/lebanons-currency-value-plunges-to-100000-against-the-dollar.
27. ↑ Heidi Moura (July 19, 2020). "Lebanese 'Lollars' – How American Currency Has Become The Face Of A Country's Downfall". The Organization for World Peace. https://theowp.org/lebanese-lollars-how-american-currency-has-become-the-face-of-a-countrys-downfall/. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
28. ↑ Khalife, Leyal (16 January 2020). "'LOLLAR' At Me: A term coined after the fall of the Lebanese banking system". Stepfeed. https://stepfeed.com/lollar-at-me-a-term-coined-after-the-fall-of-the-lebanese-banking-system-0087. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
29. ↑ Lazkani, Souad (January 25, 2021). "Lebanese Filmmaker Says You Can Change 'Lollars' To Dollars By Investing In Movies". the961.com. https://www.the961.com/lollars-to-dollars-investing-in-films/. Retrieved March 16, 2021.

## External links

* Banque du Liban
* Historical and current banknotes of Lebanon

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