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The Central Bank of Syria has issued a new high denomination 2,000 pound banknote featuring President Bashar al-Assad, the first time he has appeared on Syrian currency since he assumed office in July 2000.

The note is one of several printed years ago, reportedly by Goznak, but, says Central Bank Governor Duraid Durgham, it was delayed due to the war and exchange rate fluctuations.

The note uses a predominantly purple theme with a portrait of the President on the obverse of the note, and which appears to depict features including optically variable ink, a windowed security thread with kinetic text effect, a latent image and a see-through perfect register feature.

The new banknote joins the current circulating family of 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 pound denominations.

Syria’s currency has plunged in value during the country’s recent conflict. In 2010, one US dollar valued 47 Syrian pounds but this has dropped since the 2011 conflict began. Today one US dollar is worth 500 Syrian pounds. As such, a new high value banknote denomination is required. The new 2,000 pound banknote is worth US $4.

Related links

Central Bank of Syria website