Italian lira

Italian lira
Country:	Italy , San Marino , Vatican City     Kingdom of Albania (1939-1943)
Subdivision:	100 centesimi
ISO 4217 code :	ITL
Abbreviation:	₤, ₤ it, L., Lit.
Exchange rate : (fixed)	1 EUR = 1936.27 ITL 1000 ITL = 0.51646 EUR

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.

Exchange rate of the lira to the German mark since 1955

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

10 Centesimi from 1911. Obverse: King Viktor Emanuel III. , Reverse: The allegories Italy and Rome

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
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
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

Commons : Italian Lira, Banknotes  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Commons : Lire coins  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Commons : Banknotes of the Kingdom of Italy  - Images, videos and audio files collection

Commons : Coins of the Kingdom of Italy  - Images, videos and audio files collection

• 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

1. ↑ La monetazione in lire website of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Italian Republic . Retrieved November 2, 2019.