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The Syrian pound (sign: LS or £S; Arabic: الليرة السورية ''al-līra as-sūriyya'', French: ''livre syrienne''; ISO code: SYP) is the currency of Syria and is issued by the Central Bank of Syria. The pound is subdivided into 100 qirsh (Arabic: قرش plural: قروش, ''qorush'', piastres in English or French), although coins in qirsh are no longer issued. Before 1947, the word qirsh was spelled with the initial Arabic letter غ, after which the word began with ق. Until 1958, banknotes were issued with Arabic on the obverse and French on the reverse. After 1958, English has been used on the reverses, hence the three different names for this currency. Coins used both Arabic and French until Syrian independence, then only Arabic. The standard abbreviation for the Syrian pound is SYP. On 5 December 2005, the selling rate quoted by the Commercial Bank of Syria was 58.4 SYP to the US dollar. A rate of about 50 pounds to one dollar has been usual in the early 2000s, but the exchange rate is subject to fluctuations. Since the start of the Syrian civil war against the president Bashar Al Assad in 2011, the exchange rate of the Syrian pound has deteriorated quickly from 47 SYP for US$1 in March 2011 to over 200 SYP for US$1 in June 2013. Strong currencies such as the USD, CAD, GBP or Euro cannot be bought from banks or exchange companies; the black market is the only source of foreign currencies available to Syrian businessmen, students and those who want to travel abroad. The maximum amount that is allowed to be taken out with the Syrian traveler is US$3,000 per flight per year. Any amount in excess of US$3,000 is confiscated by the authorities and the Syrian traveler will risk spending a long time in what is called "economic affairs court". The Syrian pound is not a hard currency, and there are restrictions on its export (the maximum amount is 2,500 SYP per person). == History == During the period when Syria was a part of Ottoman Empire - which lasted about 400 years - the Ottoman lira was the currency. Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the placing of Syria under a mandate (French Occupation), the Egyptian pound was used in the territories under French and British mandates, including Lebanon, Transjordan and Palestine. Upon taking Lebanon and Syria under its separate mandate, the French government sought to replace the Egyptian currency and granted a commercial bank, the Banque de Syrie (a French affiliate of the Ottoman Bank), the authority to issue a currency for states under its new mandate. The pound (or livre as it was then known) was introduced in 1919 and was pegged at a value of 20 French francs . As the political status of Lebanon evolved, the Banque de Syrie, which was to act as the official bank for Lebanon and Syria, was renamed the Banque de Syrie et du Grand-Liban (BSL). The BSL issued the Lebanese-Syrian currency for 15 years, starting in 1924. Two years before the expiration of the 15-year period, the BSL split the Lebanese-Syrian currency into two separate currencies that could still be used interchangeably in either state. In 1939, the bank was renamed the Banque de Syrie et du Liban. In 1941, the peg to the French franc was replaced by a peg to the British pound of 8.83125 Syrian pounds = 1 British pound, as a consequence of the occupation of Syria by British and Free French forces. This rate was based on the pre-war conversion rate between the franc and sterling. In 1946, following devaluation of the franc, the Syrian pound was pegged once again to the franc at a rate of 1 pound = 54.35 francs. In 1947, the U.S. dollar was adopted as the peg for the Syrian currency, with 2.19148 pounds = 1 dollar, a rate which was maintained until 1961. The Lebanese and Syrian currencies split in 1948. From 1961, a series of official exchange rates were in operation, alongside a parallel, black market rate which reflected the true market rate for Syrian pounds in Jordan and Lebanon where there was a healthy trade in the Syrian currency. The market was allowed to flourish because everybody, including government and public sector companies, needed it. The black market rate diverged dramatically from the official rate in the 1980s. 〔(Syria: The businessman can't play his hand ) Euromoney May 1986.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Syrian pound」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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