Italian lira
Italian lira | |||
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Country: |
Italy , San Marino , Vatican City Kingdom of Albania (1939-1943) |
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Subdivision: | 100 centesimi | ||
ISO 4217 code : | ITL | ||
Abbreviation: | ₤, ₤ it, L., Lit. | ||
Exchange rate : (fixed) |
1 EUR = 1936.27 ITL |
The Italian lira ( ₤ , ISO code ITL; plural lire ) was the official currency of Italy with the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 until December 31, 2001 . It was also legal tender in San Marino and from 1929 in Vatican City . The currency name lira has the same origin as the (British) pound in the Latin name libra pondo for the weighing weight "pound" (the Italian currency is derived from the first part of the term, the British pound from the second part), therefore the currency symbol ₤ is used for both used. The sub-unit of the lira, the centesimo , lost its importance due to its devaluation after the Second World War.
The San Marino lira and the Vatican lira were linked to the Italian lira with a fixed exchange rate and, like the Italian lira, were legal tender in Italy, San Marino and Vatican City .
history
The history of the lira goes back to the Kingdom of Italy (1805-1814) , which emerged from the Cisalpine Republic of Napoleon. There the lira was introduced at the value of the French franc . In the Latin Monetary Union , the mutual acceptance of coins that had the same value was regulated by contract.
With the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, the Italian lira became the official currency of Italy and remained so until December 31, 2001.
After the Second World War , many developed country currencies were members of the Bretton Woods system ; the courses were largely firm and did not form on the market. In March 1973 the system collapsed; the nominal gold redemption obligation of the USA had surprisingly ended in August 1971 (" Nixon shock "). The 1973/74 and 1979/80 oil crises contributed to inflation in many industrialized countries; Keynesian measures (eg "stimulus programs") turned out to be a flash in the pan; there was stagflation .
The long-lasting inflation (it led to relatively high nominal values: 1000 lire had purchasing power in 1999 about the same as one euro in 2010) could not be slowed until the mid-1990s, when numerous potential euro countries tried vigorously to meet the criteria for introducing the euro.
On January 1, 1999, the euro was introduced as book money (thus the exchange rates between the parties were finally determined) and on January 1, 2002 as cash (see also Eurozone ). The official exchange rate is € 1 = 1936.27 L.
Coins
kingdom
The first coins of the Kingdom of Italy were 1, 2, 5 and 10 centesimi in copper, 20 and 50 centesimi, 1, 2 and 5 lire in silver and higher amounts in gold.
New coins were issued after the First World War . 5 and 10 centesimi became smaller and the coins up to 2 lire were no longer made of silver, but the new coins of 5, 10 and 20 lire.
After the Second World War, the centesimi values and silver coins disappeared from circulation.
republic
The new Republic of Italy introduced new coins made of an aluminum alloy from 1946 with the values 1, 2, 5 and 10 lire. After just a few years, this series was replaced by a new series of smaller coins, which, however, consisted of the same aluminum alloy.
In the 1950s, two chrome steel coins for 50 and 100 lire followed, a coin made of aluminum bronze for 20 lire and a silver coin for 500 lire, which disappeared again when the silver value exceeded the face value.
In 1977 an aluminum bronze coin of 200 lire followed and in 1982 a bimetal coin of 500 lire. In the early 1990s, the 50 and 100 lire coins were first reduced in size and finally replaced by a new issue.
When the 1000 lire coin was introduced in 1997, a mistake occurred: on the map of Europe shown, the inner German border was still drawn seven years after reunification and the borders between Germany and the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Denmark were missing. In the same year a new version with a corrected map was issued.
Before the introduction of the euro, only the values 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 lire played a real role in payment transactions.
Even if the production of the 1 and 2 lire coins for circulation was stopped after 1959, the coins remained valid and, like the other values, could be exchanged until December 6, 2011.
Coin scarcity was a chronic problem and the coins were often replaced by candy in everyday life. Around 1976 there was a kind of emergency money in Italy, so-called Miniassegni, to alleviate the problem .
Coins of the Italian Republic
Coins of the Italian Republic | |||||||||||
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image | Face value | Technical parameters | description | Embossing years | |||||||
front | back | Weight | diameter | composition | edge | front | back | from | to | Suspension | |
1 lira | 1.25 g | 21.6 mm |
Italma (96.2% Al , 3.5% Mg , 0.3% Mn ) |
Smooth edge | "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA", Ceres | Orange , value, year | 1946 | 1950 | 1954 | ||
0.625 g | 17.2 mm | "REPVBBLICA • ITALIANA -", scales | Cornucopia , value, year | 1951 | 1959 | 2002 | |||||
2 lire | 1.75 g | 24.1 mm | Italma | Smooth edge | "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA", farmer with a plow | Wheat ear , value, year | 1946 | 1950 | 1954 | ||
0.8 g | 18.3 mm | Corrugation | "REPVBBLICA • ITALIANA -", bee | Olive branch , value, year | 1953 | 1959 | 2002 | ||||
5 lire | 2.5 g | 26.7 mm | Italma | Corrugation | "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA", Statue of Liberty | Bunch of grapes , value, year | 1946 | 1950 | 1954 | ||
1 g | 20.3 mm | Smooth edge | "REPVBBLICA • ITALIANA -", oar | Dolphin , value, year | 1951 | 1998 | 2002 | ||||
10 lire | 3 g | 29 mm | Italma | "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA" | "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA", Pegasus | Olive branch, value, year | 1946 | 1950 | 1954 | ||
1.6 g | 23.3 mm | Smooth edge | "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA", plow, year | Ears of wheat, worth | 1951 | 1999 | 2002 | ||||
20 lire | 3.6 g | 21.3 mm |
Bronzital (92% Cu , 6% Al, 2% Ni ) |
Corrugation | "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA", head with a crown of wheat ears | Oak branch , value, year | 1957 | 1959 | 2002 | ||
Smooth edge | 1969 | 1999 | 2002 | ||||||||
50 lire | 6.25 g | 24.8 mm |
Acmonital (72% Fe , 18% Cr , 10% Ni) |
Smooth edge | "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA", head with crown made of oak branches | Vulcanus , value, year | 1954 | 1989 | 2002 | ||
2.7 g | 16.55 mm | 1990 | 1995 | 2002 | |||||||
4.5 g | 19.2 mm | Cupronickel | Smooth edge | "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA", Italia turrita | Tree crown, oak branch, cornucopia, cogwheel , grape, value, year | 1996 | 1999 | 2002 | |||
100 lire | 8 g | 27.8 mm | Acmonital | Smooth edge | "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA" | Minerva , laurel, value, year | 1955 | 1989 | 2002 | ||
3.3 g | 18.3 mm | 1990 | 1992 | 2002 | |||||||
4.5 g | 22 mm | Cupronickel | Corrugation | "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA", Italia turrita | Seagull , ear of corn, dolphin, olive branch, value, year | 1993 | 1999 | 2002 | |||
200 lire | 5 g | 24 mm | Bronzital | Corrugation | "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA", female bust | Gear, value, year | 1977 | 1998 | 2002 | ||
500 lire | 11 g | 29.5 mm | Silver 835 ‰ | "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA", year | Female bust surrounded by 19 city and regional coats of arms | "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA", three caravels | 1958 | 1967 | 1967 | ||
6.8 g | 25.8 mm | Outside: Acmonital
Inside: bronzital |
Corrugation | "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA", head of the Italian Republic | Quirinal Palace , value, year | 1982 | 1995 | 2002 | |||
1,000 lire | 8.8 g | 27 mm | Outside: bronzital
Inside: cupronickel |
Corrugation | "REPVBBLICA ITALIANA", Italia turrita | Europe with inner German border , value, year | 1997 | 1997 | 2002 | ||
Europe, value, year | 1997 | 1998 | 2002 |
Banknotes
kingdom
In the Kingdom of Italy , the highest value of a banknote was 1,000 lire.
republic
In the 1950s, banknotes of 50, 100, 500, 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 lire were in circulation in the then still young Republic of Italy . In the 1960s, 50,000 and 100,000 lire banknotes followed. In the 1970s, notes of 2,000 and 20,000 lire were added, the latter being withdrawn from circulation in 1985. The last value added was 500,000 lire in 1997.
The 500 lire note was replaced by a coin, but returned in 1966 when the silver value of the coin exceeded its face value. The 500 lire bills issued from 1966 to 1979 are not actually "banknotes" as they were not issued by the Banca d'Italia but by the Ministry of Finance as Biglietti di Stato .
Circulated before the introduction of euro banknotes in the value of 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000, 50,000, 100,000 and 500,000 lire (the 500-lira note was invalid on 28 February 1986). Up until December 6, 2011, these notes could still be exchanged at the Banca d'Italia . Banknotes from older series had become worthless by 2006 at the latest.
Banknotes of the Italian Republic
Banknotes of the Italian Republic | |||||||||
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image | Face value | Dimensions | Main colors | description | Period | ||||
front | back | Watermark | from | to | Suspension | ||||
50 lire | 105 × 65 mm | green | Italia turrita | value | Number "50" | December 31, 1951 | December 31, 1951 | October 1957 | |
100 lire | 114 × 70 mm | violet | Italia turrita | value | Number "100" | December 31, 1951 | December 31, 1951 | October 1957 | |
500 lire | 212 × 132 mm | violet | Allegory of Law and Justice, coat of arms of the House of Savoy | Allegory of oenology , Italia turrita | Guide of Rome, inscription "L. 500" | July 22, 1946 | November 14, 1950 | June 30, 1953 | |
144 × 70 mm | pink | Ceres | Monogram BI | Italia turrita | March 20, 1947 | January 23, 1962 | June 30, 1969 | ||
110 × 55 mm | Green yellow | Arethusa , dolphins , eagles , snake | Inscription "500 LIRE" | cornucopia | June 20, 1966 | April 23, 1975 | June 30, 1980 | ||
114 × 57 mm | Azure blue | Mercurius with a winged helmet | Inscription "CINQUECENTO" | Emblem of the Italian Republic | February 14, 1974 | April 2nd 1979 | February 28, 1986 | ||
1,000 lire | 244 × 147 mm | violet | Inscription "MILLE LIRE", coat of arms of the House of Savoy | Italia turrita, allegory of credit and commerce | Italia turrita, "LIRE 1000", "BANCA D'ITALIA" | July 12, 1946 | November 14, 1950 | June 30, 1953 | |
159 × 75 mm | green | A grace in Botticelli's painting Primavera | Monogram BI | Italia turrita | March 20, 1947 | January 9, 1963 | June 30, 1969 | ||
122 × 62 mm | pink | Giuseppe Verdi | Inscription "LIRE MILLE" | Apollo | July 14, 1962 | March 23, 1969 | July 1, 1973 | ||
125 × 62 mm | violet | Giuseppe Verdi, Estense harp | Teatro alla Scala | Apollo | March 25, 1969 | April 30, 1983 | July 1, 1986 | ||
113 × 60 mm | pink | Marco Polo | Doge's Palace | Marco Polo | March 13, 1982 | May 9, 1991 | June 30, 1995 | ||
112 × 62 mm | violet | Maria Montessori | Montessori education | Maria Montessori | October 24, 1990 | July 25, 2001 | February 28, 2002 | ||
2,000 lire | 135 × 65 mm | yellow | Galileo Galilei , Pisa Cathedral , Leaning Tower of Pisa | Signs of the zodiac , Arcetri observatory | Evangelista Torricelli | October 8, 1973 | February 8, 1993 | November 15, 1993 | |
135 × 65 mm | yellow | Guglielmo Marconi | Research vessel Elettra , transmission masts in Glace Bay (Nova Scotia), telegraph | Guglielmo Marconi | October 24, 1990 | May 25, 2001 | February 28, 2002 | ||
5,000 lire | 233 × 122 mm | green | Allegories of the Republics of Genoa and Venice | flora | Dante Alighieri , Virgil | January 17, 1947 | 7th January 1963 | June 30, 1969 | |
143 × 70 mm | Green Blue | Christoph Columbus | caravel | Galileo Galilei | 3rd September 1964 | 20th January 1970 | July 31, 1977 | ||
141 × 70 mm | Green / purple | Christoph Columbus | three caravels | Galileo Galilei | 20th May 1971 | November 10, 1977 | 1st December 1982 | ||
127 × 61 mm | brown | Painting Ritratto d'uomo by Antonello da Messina | Turtle fountain , rose window of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Troy | Painting Ritratto d'uomo | March 9, 1979 | October 19, 1983 | March 1, 1989 | ||
126 × 70 mm | green | Vincenzo Bellini , Teatro Massimo Bellini | Scene from the opera Norma | Vincenzo Bellini | January 31, 1985 | July 25, 2001 | February 28, 2002 | ||
10,000 lire | 243 × 126 mm | red | Allegories of the Republics of Genoa and Venice | Dante Alighieri | Michelangelo , Galileo Galilei | May 8, 1948 | March 24, 1962 | June 30, 1969 | |
156 × 78 mm | pink | Michelangelo Buonarroti | Piazza del Campidoglio di Roma | David di Michelangelo | 3rd July 1962 | November 27, 1973 | July 31, 1983 | ||
133 × 70 mm | green | Painting Ritratto d'uomo by Andrea del Castagno | Gesù Nuovo in Naples | Unknown person | October 30, 1976 | March 8, 1984 | March 21, 1988 | ||
133 × 70 mm | blue | Alessandro Volta , voltaic column , galvanic cell | Tempio Voltiano Museum in Como | Alessandro Volta | 3rd September 1984 | July 25, 2001 | February 28, 2002 | ||
20,000 lire | 161 × 78 mm | Red Green | Titian | Painting heavenly and earthly love | Titian | February 21, 1975 | May 27, 1985 | July 1, 1985 | |
50,000 lire | 165 × 82 mm | ocher | Leonardo da Vinci | View of Vinci | Head of Sant'Anna from the painting Cartone di sant'Anna | 3rd July 1967 | 7th November 1975 | March 31, 1979 | |
150 × 70 mm | violet | Face of a woman | Pantheon , Pazzi Chapel | Female head | June 20, 1977 | April 3, 1985 | 1st December 1986 | ||
150 × 70 mm | violet | Gian Lorenzo Bernini , Triton Fountain | Equestrian statue , St. Peter's Basilica | Gian Lorenzo Bernini | March 15, 1984 | July 25, 2001 | February 28, 2002 | ||
100,000 lire | 175 × 86 mm | ocher | Alessandro Manzoni | View of Lecco | muse | 3rd July 1967 | 15th January 1979 | 1st December 1982 | |
157 × 70 mm | violet | A grace in Botticelli's painting Primavera | architecture | Female head | June 20, 1978 | October 29, 1984 | March 21, 1988 | ||
156 × 70 mm | green | Caravaggio , painting Buona ventura | Painting basket of fruit | Caravaggio | October 25, 1983 | July 25, 2001 | February 28, 2002 | ||
500,000 lire | 163 × 78 mm | Azure blue | Raffael , painting Triumph of Galatea | Fresco The School of Athens | Raffael | May 13, 1997 | July 25, 2001 | February 28, 2002 |
Web links
- The Italian lira in Numispedia
- colnect - coin catalog made by collectors ›Italy› coins ›1946 ~ 2001 - Republic (Lira) - circulation coins
- Italian lira banknotes (Italian)
- The pre-euro banknotes of Italy (German, English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ La monetazione in lire website of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Italian Republic . Retrieved November 2, 2019.