No, the Old 500 Syrian Lira Note Was Not Classified as One of the Most Beautiful Banknotes in the World
The Claim
The old 500 Syrian lira note was classified as one of the most beautiful banknotes in the world—per the currency and banknote website Best Banknotes.
News posted on
Emerging story
Facebook accounts have recently shared news posts claiming that the old 500 Syrian lira note was classified as one of the most beautiful banknotes in the world. Those sharing the news attributed it to a website called Best Banknotes.
Description: The screenshot shows the claim posted on Facebook.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s team investigated the circulated photo and found it fake. The website Best of Banknotes did publish a piece in July 2018 about the goddess Ishtar, pointing that the photo of the goddess is printed on the 500 Syrian lira note. Still, there was no mention of it being classified as one of the most beautiful banknotes in the world.
In 1958, the 500 Syrian lira note was issued for the first time, according to the Central Bank of Syria.
Translated by Ahmed N. A. Almassri
