Syria began circulating new currency bills as the country tries to stabilize an economy battered by years of war and sanctions. The AP report says Central Bank Governor Mokhles Nazer announced that the exchange of old Syrian pounds for new banknotes had officially begun, with the process starting in Damascus after months of preparation.
The core change is straightforward. The presidential decree says the new Syrian currency removes two zeros from the old nominal value. In practical terms, 100 old Syrian pounds now equal one new pound. The old currency's largest denomination was 5,000 pounds, while the new one tops out at 500. That kind of redenomination does not fix inflation by itself, but it simplifies transactions and signals a fresh monetary framework.
The report places the move squarely in the post-Assad transition. A year after Bashar Assad's government fell, the new authorities under President Ahmad al-Sharaa are trying to improve a system distorted by conflict and isolation. The AP says old Syrian currency will be gradually withdrawn from circulation on a timetable set by the central bank and through designated exchange centers, which means the change is meant to be orderly rather than abrupt.
The currency data in the report show how much the pound has lost over time. In Damascus, the dollar was selling for 11,800 old pounds on Saturday, compared with 47 pounds at the start of the conflict in 2011. That gap captures the scale of the collapse the government is trying to manage. Redenomination is partly administrative, but it is also symbolic: it helps state institutions present a new monetary identity after a long period of breakdown.
The AP report also notes that the U.S. and European Union have removed most sanctions imposed during Assad's rule. That matters because any currency reform will face limits if the wider economy remains constrained by trade and financing restrictions. The new notes may be a practical step, but their value depends on whether the state can keep rebuilding confidence in the banking system.
So far, the evidence shows a country trying to stage a controlled reset. The notes are changing, the exchange schedule is now under way, and the old Assad-era money is being pulled from circulation. The deeper question is whether the currency change can do more than tidy up the numbers. For now, the new bills mark one of the clearest signs yet that Syria's new authorities want to separate the economy from the symbols of the old regime.
The redenomination also gives the authorities a way to separate the mechanics of daily commerce from the symbols of the Assad era. Old notes with Assad family imagery are being pulled out while new bills enter circulation, and that helps the state present the currency reform as part of a wider political reset. The AP report's exchange-rate comparison, from 47 pounds to the dollar at the start of the conflict to 11,800 old pounds now, shows why many Syrians would see the change as overdue. Whether the new notes restore confidence will depend on more than design, but the transition itself is a signal of a country trying to turn a page.
