Description

The modern State of Lebanon has existed within its current borders since 1920, when Greater Lebanon was created under French and British mandate, resulting from the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. Before this date, the designation “Lebanon” concerned a territory with vaguely defined borders, encompassing the mountain range of Mount Lebanon and its outskirts (mainly the Mediterranean coast and the plains of Bekaa and Akkar). The idea of an independent Lebanon, however, emerged during the end of the Mount Lebanon Emirate where Maronite clerics vowed for an independent nation.

An essai is a type of trial strike, typically a non-circulating, non-legal tender coin with a slightly higher mintage than the usual pattern coin.