Aljazeera.net correspondents
Northern Syria– The process of weighing money on a scale in the Syrian markets in areas controlled by the regime has become a popular phenomenon among traders, after the continuous collapse in the value of the Syrian pound, with the extreme difficulty of counting large amounts, in conjunction with the wear and tear of banknotes that prevents currency counting machines from working.
Market traders and currency exchangers are forced to carry large amounts of Syrian pounds, which increases the risk of theft, in the absence of electronic cash transactions via bank cards.
A merchant from the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, who preferred not to reveal his name for security reasons, said that most small and medium-sized transactions are done by weighing the amounts of money, because counting the currency would take a very long time and would require someone dedicated to this difficult task.
The merchant added – in an interview with Al Jazeera Net – that his currency counting device often stops counting, due to damaged parts of the banknotes, or some people sticking the worn ones with transparent tape, or even adding pieces of paper to make them appear complete, which stops the device from counting.
The merchant pointed out that carrying currency in large bags has become an almost normal phenomenon, and a source of mockery for most residents, as buying a washing machine or home furniture now requires the buyer to carry several bags of Syrian currency, and the seller faces the problem of counting and storing it.
How is currency weighed?
Goldsmith Abdullah Barakat explains the working weight mechanism adopted by most merchants and goldsmiths in general, explaining that the weight of a bundle equivalent to 500,000 Syrian pounds in the 5,000 pound denomination is 98 grams, and the weight of a bundle of 200,000 Syrian pounds in the 2,000 pound denomination is 100 grams.
Barakat added – in an interview with Al Jazeera Net – that the weight of a bundle of 100,000 Syrian pounds in the denomination of 1,000 Syrian pounds reaches 97 grams, and the weight of a bundle of 50,000 Syrian pounds in the denomination of 500 pounds reaches 102 grams.
According to Barakat, the majority of people weigh the currency using a highly sensitive gold scale or any precise electronic scale, noting that the error rate is very slight and does not greatly affect the already collapsed financial value.
loss of resources
Since 2011, when popular protests began in the country, the value of the Syrian pound against the US dollar has fallen significantly, making the largest Syrian banknote (5,000 Syrian pounds) in the markets today worth less than half a dollar.
While each US dollar, according to the “Lira Today” website, which adopts the official price, is equivalent to 14,650 Syrian pounds, in the markets of the capital, Damascus.
Osama Qadi, head of the Syrian Economic Working Group, saw it as natural for the Syrian currency to lose its value after all this destruction, neglect, chaos, and loss of Syria’s human resources, internal and financial wealth, and its division into 3 areas of influence, with 830 foreign military points and 23 internal crossings between the provinces.
Qadi said – in an interview with Al Jazeera Net – that the Syrian regime did not benefit from its return to the Arab League on 19 May/May 2023, the value of the Syrian currency has been restored. “In fact, its value has fallen from 8,000 to 15,000 per dollar, and the price of a gram of 18-karat gold has fallen from 404,000 to 914,000 liras.”
Qadi stressed that the Syrian regime’s continuation of Russia and Iran’s approach as “guarantors” of the “political” process in Syria, may lead to the Syrian currency, within years, to the elimination of 10 zeros from the currency, as happened with the Zimbabwean dollar.
