The History of Italia Lira
LIRA
The lira was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. The lira was also the currency of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy between 1807 and 1814.
The term originates from the
value of a pound weight (Latin: libra) of high purity silver and as such is a direct cognate of the British pound sterling.
The 500 Lire Silver
Coins were minted during two periods of the Italian Republic. The first minting took place from 1958 to 1967.
ď‚— Upon the creation of the Kingdom of Italy under
Vittorio Emanuele II (1861), a unified lira was established. Other currencies replaced by the Italian lira included the Lombardy-Venetia pound, the Two Sicilies piastra, the Tuscan fiorino, the Papal States scudo and the Parman lira.
Lombardy-Venetia pound
Two Sicilies piastra
Tuscan fiorino
Papal States scudo
Parman lira
Latin Monetary Union In 1865, Italy formed part
of the Latin Monetary Union in which the lira was set as equal to, among others,the French, Belgian and Swiss francs. The Latin Monetary Union (LMU) was a 19th-century system that unified several European currencies into a single currency that could be used in all the member states.
ď‚— The coinage remained essentially unaltered until the First World
War. In 1919, the production of all earlier coin types except for the nickel 20 centesimi halted, and smaller, copper 5 and 10 centesimi and nickel 50 centesimi coins were introduced, followed by nickel 1 and 2 lire pieces in 1922 and 1923, respectively. Â All issuance of coinage came to a halt in 1943.
In 1951, the government
again issued notes, this time simply bearing the title “Repubblica Italiana”. Denominations were of 50 and 100 lire (replacing the Bank of Italy notes) and they circulated until coins of these denominations were introduced in the mid 1950s.
ď‚— In 1966, 500 lire notes were introduced (again replacing
Bank of Italy notes) which were produced until replaced in 1982 by a coin. In 1967, 50,000 and 100,000 lire notes were introduced by the Bank of Italy, followed by 20,000 lire in 1975 and 500,000 lire in 1997.
The lira was the official
unit of currency in Italy until 1 January 1999, when it was replaced by the euro. The euro officially began circulating in Italy on 1 January 2002.