Turkish new lira
Encyclopedia
The new Turkish lira was the currency
of Turkey
and the de facto independent state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
between 1 January 2005 and 1 January 2009 which was a transition period for the removal of six zeroes from the currency. The new lira was subdivided into 100 new kurush (yeni kuruş). The symbol was YTL and the ISO 4217
code was TRY.
experienced in Turkey from the 1970s through to the 1990s, the old lira
experienced severe depreciation in value. Turkey has had high inflation rates compared to developed countries but has never suffered hyperinflation
. From an average of 9 lira per U.S. dollar in the late 1960s, the currency came to trade at approximately 1.65 million
lira per U.S. dollar in late 2001. This represented an average inflation of about 38% per year. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
had called this problem a "national shame". With the revaluation of the Turkish old lira, the Romanian leu
(also revalued in July 2005) briefly became the world's least valued currency unit
.
In late December 2003, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
passed a law that allowed for the removal of six zeroes from the currency, and the creation of the new lira. It was introduced on 1 January, 2005, replacing the previous lira (which remained valid in circulation until the end of 2005) at a rate of 1 new lira = 1,000,000
old lira.
The official name of the currency is "New Turkish Lira". According to the Central Bank, the word "new" (yeni) is only a "temporary" measure . A news agency reported that "new" will be removed on January 1, 2009. The same source also indicated that the banknotes will have "different shapes and sizes to prevent forgery". The issuance of a new highest denomination, 200 lira, is contemplated at the same time.
To the dismay of the European Central Bank
, the sizes and compositions of the 50 new kuruş and 1 new lira coins clearly resemble those of the €1 and €2 coins respectively. (See comparison photo in http://www.flickr.com/photos/markus-merz/84762418/ of YTL 1 coin and €2 coin.) This could cause confusion in the eurozone
. It also caused trouble to businesses using vending machine
s (particularly at airports) in the eurozone since a number of vending machines at the time accepted the 1 new lira coin as a €2 coin. Since €2 is worth roughly four times more, vending machines affected had to be upgraded at the expense of their owners.
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and the de facto independent state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus or North Cyprus , officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , is a self-declared state that comprises the northeastern part of the island of Cyprus...
between 1 January 2005 and 1 January 2009 which was a transition period for the removal of six zeroes from the currency. The new lira was subdivided into 100 new kurush (yeni kuruş). The symbol was YTL and the ISO 4217
ISO 4217
ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes , and references to minor units in three tables:* Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list...
code was TRY.
History
Because of the chronic inflationChronic inflation
Chronic inflation occurs when a country experiences high inflation for a prolonged period of time due to undue expansion or increase of the money supply...
experienced in Turkey from the 1970s through to the 1990s, the old lira
Turkish lira
The Turkish lira is the currency of Turkey and the de facto independent state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The lira is subdivided into 100 kuruş...
experienced severe depreciation in value. Turkey has had high inflation rates compared to developed countries but has never suffered hyperinflation
Hyperinflation
In economics, hyperinflation is inflation that is very high or out of control. While the real values of the specific economic items generally stay the same in terms of relatively stable foreign currencies, in hyperinflationary conditions the general price level within a specific economy increases...
. From an average of 9 lira per U.S. dollar in the late 1960s, the currency came to trade at approximately 1.65 million
Million
One million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian millione , from mille, "thousand", plus the augmentative suffix -one.In scientific notation, it is written as or just 106...
lira per U.S. dollar in late 2001. This represented an average inflation of about 38% per year. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...
had called this problem a "national shame". With the revaluation of the Turkish old lira, the Romanian leu
Romanian leu
The leu is the currency of Romania. It is subdivided into 100 bani . The name of the currency means "lion". On 1 July 2005, Romania underwent a currency reform, switching from the previous leu to a new leu . 1 RON is equal to 10,000 ROL...
(also revalued in July 2005) briefly became the world's least valued currency unit
Least valued currency unit
The least valued currency unit is the currency in which a single unit buys the least number of any given other currency or the smallest amount of a given good. Most commonly, the calculation is made against a major reserve currency such as the United States dollar or the euro...
.
- 1966 — 1 U.S. dollar = 9 lira (TL)
- 1980 — 1 U.S. dollar = 90 lira (TL)
- 1988 — 1 U.S. dollar = 1,300 lira (TL)
- 1995 — 1 U.S. dollar = 45,000 lira (TL)
- 1996 — 1 U.S. dollar = 107,000 lira (TL)
- 2001 — 1 U.S. dollar = 1,650,000 lira (TL)
- 2004 — 1 U.S. dollar = 1,350,000 lira (TL)
- 25 July 2008 — 1 U.S. dollar = 1.21 lira (YTL)
- 6 November 2008 — 1 U.S. dollar = 1.6 lira (YTL)
In late December 2003, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey , usually referred to simply as the Meclis , is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence...
passed a law that allowed for the removal of six zeroes from the currency, and the creation of the new lira. It was introduced on 1 January, 2005, replacing the previous lira (which remained valid in circulation until the end of 2005) at a rate of 1 new lira = 1,000,000
Million
One million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian millione , from mille, "thousand", plus the augmentative suffix -one.In scientific notation, it is written as or just 106...
old lira.
The official name of the currency is "New Turkish Lira". According to the Central Bank, the word "new" (yeni) is only a "temporary" measure . A news agency reported that "new" will be removed on January 1, 2009. The same source also indicated that the banknotes will have "different shapes and sizes to prevent forgery". The issuance of a new highest denomination, 200 lira, is contemplated at the same time.
Coins
Coins were introduced in 2005 in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 new (Yeni) kuruş and 1 new (Yeni) lira. The 1 new (Yeni) kuruş was minted in brass and the 5, 10 and 25 new kuruş in cupro-nickel, whilst the 50 new kuruş and 1 new lira are bimetallic. All coins show portraits of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.To the dismay of the European Central Bank
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank is the institution of the European Union that administers the monetary policy of the 17 EU Eurozone member states. It is thus one of the world's most important central banks. The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt,...
, the sizes and compositions of the 50 new kuruş and 1 new lira coins clearly resemble those of the €1 and €2 coins respectively. (See comparison photo in http://www.flickr.com/photos/markus-merz/84762418/ of YTL 1 coin and €2 coin.) This could cause confusion in the eurozone
Eurozone
The eurozone , officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union of seventeen European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender...
. It also caused trouble to businesses using vending machine
Vending machine
A vending machine is a machine which dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts currency or credit into the machine....
s (particularly at airports) in the eurozone since a number of vending machines at the time accepted the 1 new lira coin as a €2 coin. Since €2 is worth roughly four times more, vending machines affected had to be upgraded at the expense of their owners.
Banknotes
Banknotes, referred to by the Central Bank as the "E-8 Emission Group", were introduced in 2005 in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 new lira. Whilst the lower four denominations replaced older notes and used very similar designs, the 50 and 100 new lira notes did not have equivalents in the old currency. All notes show portraits of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk from different points of his life and images of various historical and otherwise important buildings and places in Turkey. A new series of banknotes, the "E-9 Emission Group" will enter circulation on 1 January 2009, with the E-8 group ceasing to be valid after 31 December 2009 (although still redeemable at branches of the Central Bank until 31 December 2019). The E-9 banknotes will refer to the currency as "lira" rather than "new lira", and will include a 200 lira denomination.| Banknotes of Emission 8 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Value | Dimensions | Main Colour | Description | |||
| Obverse | Reverse | Obverse | Reverse | ||||
 |
1 lira | 160 × 76 mm | Claret Red, Blue | Kemal Atatürk | Atatürk Dam Atatürk Dam The Atatürk Dam , originally the Karababa Dam, is a zoned rock-fill dam with a central core on the Euphrates River on the border of Adıyaman Province and Şanlıurfa Province in Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey... (as a part of Southeastern Anatolia Project Southeastern Anatolia Project The Southeastern Anatolia Project is a multi-sector integrated regional development project based on the concept of sustainable development for the 9 million people living in the Southeastern Anatolia region of Turkey... ) |
||
 |
5 lira | 162 × 76 mm | Pastel yellow and greenish brown | Kemal Atatürk | Anıtkabir Anitkabir Anıtkabir is the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish War of Independence and the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey... , Ankara Ankara Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million.... |
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| 10 lira | 162 × 76 mm | Red | Kemal Atatürk with Flag of Turkey Flag of Turkey The flag of Turkey is a red flag with a white crescent moon and a star in its centre. The flag is called Ayyıldız or Albayrak . The Turkish flag is referred to as Alsancak in the Turkish National Anthem.... silhouette |
Piri Reis Map Piri Reis map The Piri Reis map is a pre-modern world map compiled in 1513 from military intelligence by the Ottoman-Turkish admiral and cartographer Piri Reis. The half of the map that survives shows the western coasts of Europe and North Africa and the coast of Brazil with reasonable accuracy... |
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 |
20 lira | 162 × 76 mm | Green | Kemal Atatürk | Ruins of Ephesus Ephesus Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era... |
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 |
50 lira | 152 × 81 mm | Orange | Kemal Atatürk | Cappadocia Cappadocia Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine... |
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 |
100 lira | 158 × 81 mm | Blue | Kemal Atatürk | Ishak Pasha Palace Ishak Pasha Palace Ishak Pasha Palace is a semi-ruined palace and administrative complex located in the Doğubeyazıt district of Ağrı province of eastern Turkey.... |
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