“The new currency is beautiful and romantic, but without memory,” a phrase that sums up the sentiment of a segment of Syrians toward the new monetary issue that the Central Bank of Syria is moving to adopt gradually during 2026, featuring a modern abstract design that is almost entirely devoid of the familiar historical symbols found on the old pound.
Economically, experts confirm that replacing damaged banknotes, adding anti counterfeiting technologies, and restructuring denominations are necessary steps in a country exhausted by war and inflation, regardless of the content of the visual design.
In contrast, artists and intellectuals criticize the absence of Syrian historical and civilizational symbols on the new banknotes, arguing that the currency has lost part of its stature as a vessel of a nation’s memory whose civilization stretches back thousands of years.
Between those who see the new issue as “the dawn of a new Syrian economy” and those who view it as “a beautiful paper without memory,” the ordinary citizen stands before a living reality oscillating between harsh economic conditions and a desire to cling to any symbol that recalls history, geography, and belonging.
The open question remains: will the new currency succeed in restoring trust as a purely economic tool, or will the absence of memory from its face make it, in the eyes of many, foreign even as it bears the nation’s name?
A Debate That Raises Syrians’ Questions About Their New Currency
Economic journalist Mahmoud Radi says in statements to +963 that the issuance of the new currency has sparked wide debate among Syrians. Between official praise for a “clean, modern design” that facilitates circulation and enhances confidence in the currency, and popular objections that see it as “an elegant paper stripped of memory,” a debate emerges that goes beyond visual aesthetics to deeper questions related to national memory and cultural and historical symbolism. Is economic function alone sufficient to define a currency, or is it also an identity document? What criteria were used to determine the visual identity of the new currency? Were opinion polls or pilot tests conducted on citizen samples before adopting the design? Why were clear historical and archaeological symbols absent, and was this a deliberate decision to avoid certain political sensitivities? Where are the revolution, the victory, and the blood of the martyrs on our new currency? And how do official bodies view the relationship between currency as an economic tool and currency as a carrier of national and cultural symbolism?
Radi notes that the plan to issue the new currency comes within an economic crisis Syria experienced during years of war, during which the pound lost most of its purchasing power and banknotes suffered widespread damage due to heavy circulation and poor storage and transport conditions, in addition to the political dimension and change of the system of governance. In this context, the relevant authorities saw that the time had come to launch a new issue in several denominations, with technical and security improvements and a comprehensive change in design, presented as an attempt to restore confidence in the national currency and regulate daily market transactions.
Currency Is Linked to Purchasing Power, Not Feminized Romantic Aesthetics
Economic expert Dr. Abdul Sattar Azmi says in statements to +963 that the modern design of the new Syrian currency, with its bright colors and advanced security features, attempts to give a “false” sense of stability and financial cleanliness, while collective memory is tied to purchasing power, not to the quality of the paper. A strong currency is a “memory of factory production and wheat fields,” and the new currency is “without memory” because it contains nothing that points to industry, trade, crafts, or underground wealth, as it does not rest on real growth.
He adds that the first impression among many recipients is that the new currency moves in a visual space entirely different from what the Syrian eye has been accustomed to for decades. Clear images of archaeological landmarks and historical figures are absent in favor of abstract, flowing shapes dominated by a soft and calm character, carrying connotations of gentleness and detachment from the grandeur and solidity traditionally associated with the image of the state and authority on banknotes. The loss of symbolism is no less dangerous than the loss of purchasing power, because trust in a currency is not only economic, but also psychological and cultural. Syrians today are not looking for a “beautiful” currency to frame and display, but for a “faithful” currency that honors their effort and sweat. Without structural reforms, the new currency will remain nothing more than an elegant “postcard” documenting a moment when purchasing power collapsed beneath the sheen of design.
Absence of Symbols: A Banknote Without Memory?
Economic researcher Dr. Mohammad Atwan says in statements to “+963” that since the early days of modern paper money, countries have traditionally printed the faces of their leaders, images of their castles, temples, bridges, and rivers, or inscriptions inspired by their artistic and archaeological heritage on their currency, sending the message that the money circulating among citizens is not just numbers, but carries part of the story of the place. In many countries, the history of the country can be read through its currency, which bears the faces of thinkers and poets, archaeological landmarks that express the depth of civilization, and symbols of liberation or national unity. Here, currency becomes a “silent narrative” that tells the story of a people and reproduces a sense of belonging with every purchase.
By contrast, Atwan believes the current design of the new Syrian currency is neutral to the point of emptiness. There are no unifying cultural figures, no broadly agreed national symbols, and no clear references to the Syrian civilizational diversity stretching from Ugarit to Palmyra to Damascus and Aleppo. The current Syrian currency avoids memory instead of embracing it, as if the aim were a paper without a stance, one that raises no question and builds no sense of belonging.
Atwan questions whether these symbols were omitted or sidelined in favor of an aesthetic vision that considers “design calmness” and “political neutrality” more important than concentrating explicit national connotations.
Currency Between Economics and Identity
A number of students at the Faculty of Economics believe that priority in the new issue should be given to measures that protect the currency from counterfeiting, organize denominations in line with price levels, and facilitate counting and circulation, considering debates over colors and shapes secondary to these challenges.
However, a number of sociology students point out another dimension: the “banknote” is one of the most frequently seen objects in a citizen’s daily life, handled during work, purchase, saving, and survival, giving it a symbolic role in shaping the image of the homeland in the collective imagination.
On the street, divergent views circulate about the project. Some speak positively of an “eye soothing design” and “modern colors” resembling those seen on the currencies of more stable countries, viewing this as a kind of aspiration toward a less harsh economic future.
Others, however, express clear disappointment: “A beautiful paper, yes, but it does not resemble our history, it does not point to any part of our civilization, not to Ugarit, not to Palmyra, not to old Aleppo,” as some repeat, signaling a sense of losing a symbolic link with place and time.
Haya al-Agha, a fine arts teacher, says to +963 that the aesthetic logic of the new currency is based on simplicity, color harmony, and ease of distinguishing denominations, with a focus on modern security elements rather than classical ornamentation and historical symbols. This choice aligns with a “global trend” toward clean design and aims to enhance confidence in the national currency by linking it to a modern, forward looking image rather than to the burdens of past political and economic realities.
Murad Suleiman, a long-time merchant in al-Hamidiyeh Souq, says to +963: “With all due respect to the new national currency and appreciation for the effort behind it, the truth is that it does not express Syria’s deep historical heritage. It is a currency submerged in feminized romanticism, devoid of dignity and national character, and compared to the old 500 note (the fez, Zenobia), in beauty and expression it amounts to zero.”
Writer Abdul Qader Issa says in statements to +963 that “currency is not merely a means of monetary exchange, but a cultural document representing the features of a nation, its history, and its values. A design that focuses on aesthetics may satisfy contemporary taste, but if it loses national symbols such as historical figures, ruins, and civilizational landmarks, it loses part of its identity. When I hold a banknote and do not feel it speaks about me or my country, it is as if it were issued by a place without history.”
Khaled al-Mohammad, a retired employee, says to +963: “The new note is clean and beautiful, but it resembles a stranger who does not know us. The old pound before 2011 used to buy us meat and vegetables. This one, its beauty reminds me how small I am before the monster of high prices.”
Currency as an Official Narrative
Social researcher Siham Marwan affirms in statements to +963 that paper currency is not merely a means of monetary exchange, nor is it just a number in a citizen’s pocket. Rather, it is a miniature sovereign document that bears the features of the nation, its history, symbols, and messages to the inside and outside. For thousands of years, countries have used money to immortalize their human heritage, historical landmarks, great leaders, thinkers, culture, achievements, and even dreams.
With the introduction of the “new Syrian currency,” however, a fundamental question emerges: where is the national historical, cultural, social, and economic memory of this currency?
The social researcher notes that choosing what to print on money is not a purely technical decision, but an expression of the narrative the state wants to establish about itself before its citizens and the world.
In this context, the question arises: what does it mean for an authority to choose to distance itself from clear historical symbols in favor of a neutral or abstract design at a moment when maps of power and alliances are being redrawn domestically and internationally? Is it a desire to escape a conflict laden legacy, or an attempt to present an image severed from its context?
She continues that the “prestige of the state” has long been associated in the public imagination with images of soldiers, fortresses, memorials, and stern historical figures printed on currencies, as these elements form an implicit message about power, continuity, and the ability to endure. Conversely, a soft and romantic design may send a different message to some, interpreted as an abandonment of the language of grandeur in favor of something resembling a greeting card or a light artistic panel, raising questions about the impact of this on the image of the state in the minds of its citizens, even if that impact remains difficult to measure precisely.
