Lira

100 lire (FAO's celebration.)

Obverse: Young woman with braid facing left and Repubblica Italiana (Republic of Italy) written in Italian.	Reverse: Cow nursing calf, face value & date. FAO at bottom and Nutrire il Mondo (English: Feed the world) at top.
Coin minted by Italy in 1970s to celebrate and promote Food and Agriculture Organization.

1 Turkish Lira

	Atatürk

1 Italian lira 1863

Victor Emmanuel II	Coat of arms of the House of Savoy

10 Turkish lira

Obverse: Head of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk with "TÜRKİYE CUMHURİYETİ" lettering (Republic of Turkey	Reverse: Face value and year within wreath, crescent moon and star at the top. Crescent opens right
223,290,000 coins minted (1984 to 1989).

Lira (plural lire) is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and Syria. It is the former currency of Italy, Malta, San Marino and the Vatican City, all of which were replaced in 2002 with the euro, and of Israel, which replaced it with the old shekel in 1980. The term originates from the value of a Troy pound (Latin libra) of high purity silver. The libra was the basis of the monetary system of the Roman Empire. When Europe resumed a monetary system, during the Carolingian Empire, the Roman system was adopted, the so-called £sd (librae, solidi, denarii).

Particularly this system was kept during the Middle Ages and Modern Age in England, France, and Italy. In each of these countries the libra was translated into local language: pound in England, livre in France, lira in Italy. The Venetian lira was one of the currencies in use in Italy and due to the economic power of the Venetian Republic a popular currency in the Eastern Mediterranean trade.

During the 19th century, Egypt and the Ottoman Empire adopted the lira as their national currency, equivalent to 100 piasters or kuruş. When the Ottoman Empire collapsed in years 1918-1922, many among the successor states kept the lira as their national currency. In some countries, such as Cyprus, which have belonged to both empires, the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire, the words lira and pound are used as equivalents.

For Turkish lira, the Turkish lira sign () is used. For other currencies L is used, sometimes in a double-crossed script form (₤) or less often single-crossed (£), is usually used as the symbol (occasionally a plain capital "L" crossed by a bar is used).

Current uses

Turkey

The Turkish lira was introduced in 1844 during the Ottoman reign. The Turkish Lira is now the currency of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Lebanon

The Lebanese pound is called "lira" in Arabic, which is the national language of Lebanon.

Syria

The Syrian pound is called "lira" in Arabic, which is the national language of Syria.

Jordan

The Jordanian dinar is widely called a "lira".

Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia

The Bulgarian and Romanian languages refer to the English pound as lira (or occasionally paund ) in opposition to Croatian which refers to the Italian currency as lira.

Former currencies

Cypriot pound, or lira, 1879–2007
French livre 781–1794
Israeli lira 1948–1980
Italian lira 1861–2002
Italian East African lira 1938–1941
Italian Somaliland lira 1925–1926
Luccan pound, or lira, until 1800 and 1826–1847
Maltese lira 1825–2007
Neapolitan lira 1812–1813
Ottoman lira 1844–1923
Papal lira 1866–1870
Parman lira before 1802 and 1815–1859
Sammarinese lira 1860s–2002
Sardinian lira 1816–1861
Tripolitanian lira 1943–1951
Tuscan pound, or lira, until 1807 and 1814–1826
Vatican lira 1929–2002
Venetian lira until 1807
Pound (currency), translated "lira" in some languages

References

External links

Overview of Italian lira from the BBC

Currencies named pound or similar
Current	Pound sterling: (Alderney pound • Falkland Islands pound • Gibraltar pound • Guernsey pound • Jersey pound • Manx pound • Saint Helena pound) Egyptian pound Lebanese pound South Sudanese pound Sudanese pound Syrian pound Turkish lira
Local alternative currency	Bristol Pound Brixton Pound Lewes Pound Stroud Pound Totnes Pound
Defunct	Anglo-Saxon pound Australian pound Bahamian pound Bermudian pound Biafran pound British West African pound Canadian pound Connecticut pound Cypriot pound Delaware pound Fijian pound French livre:(Livre parisis • Livre tournois) French colonial livre: (Guadeloupe livre • Haitian livre • New France livre • Saint Lucia livre) Gambian pound Georgia pound Ghanaian pound Irish pound Israeli pound Italian lira Jamaican pound Japanese government-issued Oceanian Pound Libyan pound Lombardo-Venetian pound Luccan pound Luxembourgish livre Malawian pound Maltese pound Maltese lira Maryland pound Massachusetts pound New Brunswick pound New Guinean pound New Hampshire pound New Jersey pound New York pound New Zealand pound Newfoundland pound Nigerian pound North Carolina pound Nova Scotian pound Oceanian pound Ottoman lira Palestine pound Papal lira Parman lira Pennsylvania pound Pound Scots Prince Edward Island pound Rhode Island pound Rhodesian pound Rhodesia and Nyasaland pound Sammarinese lira Sardinian lira Solomon Islands pound South Carolina pound Southern Rhodesian pound South African pound South African Republic pound South West African pound Tongan pound Tuscan pound Vatican lira Virginia pound West Indian pound Western Samoan pound Zambian pound
See also	Dinar Pound sign Troy pound

Coordinates: 2°14′N 32°54′E / 2.233°N 32.900°E / 2.233; 32.900

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