Lebanese Lira
| Lebanese pound | |
|---|---|
|
ليرة لبنانية (Arabic) livre libanaise (French) |
|
| ISO 4217 | |
| Code | LBP |
| Denominations | |
| Subunit | |
| 1⁄100 | qeresh |
| Symbol | ل.ل. |
| Banknotes | 1000, 5000, 10 000, 20 000, 50 000, 100 000 pounds |
| Coins | 250, 500 pounds |
| Demographics | |
| User(s) |
 Lebanon
|
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | Banque du Liban |
| Website | www |
| Valuation | |
| Inflation | 4.2% |
| Source | The World Factbook, 2007 est. |
| Pegged with |
US dollar US$ = 1507.5 LBP |
The Lebanese pound (Arabic: ليرة lira; French: livre; sign: ل.ل., ISO 4217: LBP) is the currency of Lebanon. It used to be divided into 100 piastres (or qirsh) but inflation has eliminated the subdivisions.
The plural form of lira, as used on the currency, is either lirat (ليرات) or the same, whilst there were four forms for qirsh: the dual qirshan (قرشان), the plural qirush (قروش) used with numbers 3–10, the accusative singular qirsha (قرشا) used with 11–99, or the genitive singular qirshi (قرش) used with multiples of 100. In both cases, the number determines which plural form is used. Before the Second World War, the Arabic spelling of the subdivision was غرش (girsh). All of Lebanon's coins and banknotes are bilingual in Arabic and French.
Before World War I, the Ottoman lira was used. In 1918, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the currency became the Egyptian pound. Upon gaining control of Syria and Lebanon, the French replaced the Egyptian pound with a new currency for Syria and Lebanon, the Syrian pound, which was linked to the French franc at a value of 1 pound = 20 francs. Lebanon issued its own coins from 1924 and banknotes from 1925. 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 the British pound sterling at a rate of 8.83 Lebanese pounds = 1 pound sterling. A link to the French franc was restored after the war but was abandoned in 1949.
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Wikipedia