{"product_id":"lebanon-p-69-1000-livres-1988-1992-unc-map-of-lebanon-columns-of-baalbek","title":"Lebanon P-69 1000 Pounds 1000 Livres 1988–1992 UNC—Map—Jupiter—Baalbek—Hezbollah","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOwn this banknote from Lebanon — its face filled with a map of the country, its back dominated by the towering columns of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baalbek\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBaalbek\u003c\/a\u003e, a Roman temple complex dedicated to \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jupiter_(mythology)\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eJupiter\u003c\/a\u003e, standing in \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hezbollah\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eHezbollah\u003c\/a\u003e-controlled territory in the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bekaa_Valley\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBekaa Valley\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eBanknote Characteristics\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eVarieties:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eP-69a: dated 1 January 1988\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eP-69b: dated 22 November 1990 or 10 August 1991\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eP-69c: dated 24 November 1992\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\nYou will receive one of the above varieties.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eColor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Obverse: blue and green; Reverse: brown and olive\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFront:\u003c\/strong\u003e Map of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lebanon\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eLebanon\u003c\/a\u003e; Arabic script\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBack:\u003c\/strong\u003e Columns of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baalbek\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBaalbek\u003c\/a\u003e (in Hezbollah-controlled territory); \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Banque_du_Liban\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBanque du Liban\u003c\/a\u003e building, Beirut; Arabic and Latin script\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWatermark:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cedar_of_Lebanon\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eCedar tree\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eComposition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paper\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 157 × 67 mm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIssuing entity:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Banque_du_Liban\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBank of Lebanon (مصرف لبنان)\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePrinter:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/De_La_Rue\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eDe La Rue\u003c\/a\u003e, London (1821–date)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDemonetized:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes — \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Demonetization_(currency)\" target=\"_blank\"\u003edemonetized\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSignatures:\u003c\/strong\u003e Not specified\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCurrency:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lebanese_pound\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eLebanese pound\u003c\/a\u003e (1939–date)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAbout Lebanon\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCapital:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Beirut\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBeirut\u003c\/a\u003e (city pop ~2.4 million; metro pop ~2.9 million, UN 2023) — similar to Paris or Chicago\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePopulation:\u003c\/strong\u003e ~5.3 million (UN 2023) — very roughly similar to Finland or Colorado\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eArea:\u003c\/strong\u003e 10,452 km² (~4,036 mi²) — slightly smaller than Connecticut; comparable to Cyprus\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGDP per capita at \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Purchasing_power_parity\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePPP\u003c\/a\u003e:\u003c\/strong\u003e ~$14,000 USD (IMF 2023) — ranks ~105th out of 193 globally; severely depressed from a 2019 financial collapse\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMain exports:\u003c\/strong\u003e Jewelry, gold, machinery, food products, pharmaceuticals\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBorders:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Syria\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eSyria\u003c\/a\u003e (north and east), \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Israel\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eIsrael\u003c\/a\u003e (south); Mediterranean Sea (west)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOfficial languages:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Arabic_language\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eArabic\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSpoken languages:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lebanese_Arabic\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eLebanese Arabic\u003c\/a\u003e (universal; second only to \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Egyptian_Arabic\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eEgyptian Arabic\u003c\/a\u003e in reach across the Arab world), \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/French_language\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eFrench\u003c\/a\u003e (widely spoken, especially in Christian Beirut — a living legacy of the French Mandate), \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Armenian_language\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eArmenian\u003c\/a\u003e (~4%, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Armenian_Lebanese\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eArmenian Lebanese\u003c\/a\u003e community)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSovereignty:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePart of the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ottoman_Empire\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eOttoman Empire\u003c\/a\u003e; administered as the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vilayet_of_Beirut\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eVilayet of Beirut\u003c\/a\u003e, which stretched from \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Latakia\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eLatakia\u003c\/a\u003e in the north to \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Acre,_Israel\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAcre\u003c\/a\u003e in what is now northern Israel (until 1918)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mandatory_Lebanon\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eFrench Mandate for Syria and Lebanon\u003c\/a\u003e (1920–1943) — Lebanon carved out as a separate state to give the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Maronite_Christians\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eMaronite Christian\u003c\/a\u003e population a homeland\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRepublic of Lebanon (22 November 1943–date) — this note issued during this period\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eLebanon Unfiltered\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe columns on the back of this note are part of the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Temple_of_Jupiter_(Baalbek)\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eTemple of Jupiter at Baalbek\u003c\/a\u003e — \u003cstrong\u003ethe largest Roman temple ever built\u003c\/strong\u003e, and one of the most contested archaeological sites on earth. Baalbek sits in the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bekaa_Valley\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBekaa Valley\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003efirmly in Hezbollah-controlled territory\u003c\/strong\u003e. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Access for tourists has always depended on the political weather.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis note was printed during the final years of the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lebanese_Civil_War\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eLebanese Civil War\u003c\/a\u003e (1975–1990) — \u003cstrong\u003e15 years of conflict\u003c\/strong\u003e that killed an estimated 120,000 people and displaced nearly a million more in a country smaller than Connecticut.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLebanon once had the most open economy and freest press in the Arab world. \u003cstrong\u003eBeirut was called the Paris of the Middle East.\u003c\/strong\u003e Then came the civil war, Syrian occupation, Hezbollah's rise, the 2006 war with Israel, the 2019 financial collapse, and the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020_Beirut_explosion\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e2020 port explosion\u003c\/a\u003e — one of the largest non-nuclear blasts in history.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe concept of \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Greater_Israel\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eGreater Israel\u003c\/a\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e— \u003cem\u003eEretz Yisrael HaShlema\u003c\/em\u003e — in its most expansive form encompasses all of Lebanon up to the Litani River and beyond, not to mention the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, parts of, Egypt Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Iraq - all to be ruled over by one socio-religious group only. It has been a fringe position for most of Israel's history.  But as of 2026, \u003cstrong\u003eIsrael is conducting an active military campaign in southern Lebanon\u003c\/strong\u003e, having ordered all residents south of the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Litani_River\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eLitani River\u003c\/a\u003e to evacuate. More than a million people have been displaced. In March 2026, Israeli Finance Minister \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bezalel_Smotrich\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBezalel Smotrich\u003c\/a\u003e stated publicly: \u003cem\u003e“The new Israeli border must be the Litani.”\u003c\/em\u003e  Defence Minister Israel Katz had earlier warned Lebanon could face “loss of territory.” \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLebanon's \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cedar_of_Lebanon\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ecedar tree\u003c\/a\u003e — the watermark on this note and the symbol on the national flag — once built the fleets of Phoenicia, Egypt, and Solomon's Temple. \u003cstrong\u003eLess than 1% of the original cedar forests remain.\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDespite everything, Lebanon has one of the \u003cstrong\u003ehighest literacy rates in the Arab world\u003c\/strong\u003e (~96%) and a diaspora estimated at 8–14 million — far larger than the population still living in the country.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Stones Beneath the Temple That Nobody Can Explain\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Romans built the Temple of Jupiter at Baalbek. That part is settled. Six columns still stand, each 22 meters tall, part of what was once the largest temple in the Roman world. But dig into the foundation and things get strange.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBeneath the Roman stonework sits a platform of megalithic blocks — including the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stone_of_the_Pregnant_Woman\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eStone of the Pregnant Woman\u003c\/a\u003e and the nearby \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stone_of_the_South\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eStone of the South\u003c\/a\u003e — some of the \u003cstrong\u003eheaviest cut stones on earth\u003c\/strong\u003e, weighing up to 1,650 tons. \u003cstrong\u003eThere is no evidence the Romans put them there.\u003c\/strong\u003e The blocks predate the temple. By how much, and by whom, is genuinely unknown.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eResearchers like \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Graham_Hancock\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eGraham Hancock\u003c\/a\u003e argue the foundation could date to a civilization that existed before the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Younger_Dryas\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eYounger Dryas\u003c\/a\u003e — the catastrophic cooling event around 12,500 years ago that ended the last ice age and, some argue, wiped out an advanced prehistoric culture. Mainstream archaeology doesn't accept that conclusion. But mainstream archaeology also doesn't have a good answer for who moved those stones, or why. \u003cstrong\u003eThe honest position is: we don't know.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Romans built their greatest temple on top of something they didn't build. That's what's on the back of this note — in territory that today flies the Hezbollah flag.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eA Country Invented for Christians, Now Fought Over by Everyone\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBefore Lebanon existed, there was no Lebanon. The entire \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Levant\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eLevant\u003c\/a\u003e — what is now Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine — was a single Ottoman administrative world, with \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Damascus\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eDamascus\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Aleppo\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAleppo\u003c\/a\u003e, and Beirut as its great cities. The \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vilayet_of_Beirut\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eVilayet of Beirut\u003c\/a\u003e ran from Latakia all the way down to Acre in what is now northern Israel — a single province that straddled what are today three separate countries.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen France took the Mandate after World War I, it drew a new border. \u003cstrong\u003eLebanon was carved out specifically to give the Maronite Christian population a state where they would be the majority\u003c\/strong\u003e — a majority that began slipping almost immediately as Muslim birth rates outpaced Christian ones. The political system built on that original demographic calculation — a Christian president, a Sunni prime minister, a Shia speaker of parliament — has been straining ever since.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Language That Travels\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWalk through Christian East Beirut and you'll hear something that sounds less like Arabic and more like a three-way conversation between Arabic, French, and something uniquely Lebanese. \u003cstrong\u003eFrench isn't just spoken in Lebanon — it's woven into Lebanese Arabic itself\u003c\/strong\u003e, with French words, French syntax, and French cultural references embedded in everyday speech in a way that reflects a century of Francophone influence. It's the most visible legacy of the French Mandate in daily life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLebanese Arabic itself punches far above its weight. Along with Egyptian Arabic, it's one of only two dialects that \u003cstrong\u003evirtually all Arabic speakers across the Arab world can understand\u003c\/strong\u003e — Egyptian through film and television, Lebanese through music, satellite TV, and the enormous Lebanese diaspora spread across every continent. A language spoken natively by five million people reaches hundreds of millions more.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eA Country That Keeps Surviving Itself\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLebanon is one of those places that shouldn't work — 18 recognized religious sects, a political system built on a demographic calculation that stopped being accurate decades ago, neighbors who have used it as a proxy battlefield for generations, a currency that lost 90% of its value in three years, a port explosion that flattened a third of Beirut. \u003cstrong\u003eAnd yet.\u003c\/strong\u003e The food is extraordinary. The universities are among the best in the region. The music scene is alive. The diaspora sends money home. People rebuild.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis note comes from the tail end of the civil war — a moment when the country was exhausted, the currency was collapsing, and the 1000 Livres was worth something. It's demonetized now. The map on the front shows a country whose southern border is, as of 2026, actively contested. The columns on the back stand in Hezbollah territory, beneath which sit stones no one can fully account for.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eOwn This Snapshot of Lebanon \u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eP-69 was printed by \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/De_La_Rue\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eDe La Rue\u003c\/a\u003e in London — the same firm that prints banknotes for over 140 countries. Three date varieties exist (69a, 69b, 69c); you will receive one. All are demonetized, all are in uncirculated condition, and all carry the same two images: a country mapped in full, and the columns of a temple built on a foundation that has never been explained.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World Money Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51847837385015,"sku":"LB69U","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0969\/7165\/3431\/files\/69o_6fed60d3-0208-4fc4-a678-00269cc3d1ab.jpg?v=1775054875","url":"https:\/\/worldmoneystore.com\/products\/lebanon-p-69-1000-livres-1988-1992-unc-map-of-lebanon-columns-of-baalbek","provider":"World Money Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}