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Italian lira

Lira Italiana (Italian)
Italian lira banknotes.JPG Italia 1000 lire.JPG
Lira banknotes ranging from ₤2,000 to ₤500,000. ₤1000 coin (1997)
ISO 4217
Code ITL
Denominations
Subunit
1100 centesimo
Subunits were abolished after WWII
Plural lire
centesimo centesimi
Symbol ₤ or L
Banknotes ₤1,000, ₤2,000, ₤5,000, ₤10,000, ₤50,000, ₤100,000, ₤500,000
Coins
 Freq. used ₤50, ₤100, ₤200, ₤500, ₤1000
 Rarely used ₤1, ₤2, ₤5, ₤10, ₤20
Demographics
User(s)

None, previously:

 Kingdom of Italy
 Italy
 San Marino
  Vatican City
but not Campione d'Italia
 Albanian Kingdom (1939–43)
Issuance
Central bank Banca d'Italia
 Website www.bancaditalia.it
Printer Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato
 Website www.ipzs.it
Mint Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato
 Website www.ipzs.it
Valuation
Inflation 2.3% (2001)
ERM
 Since 13 March 1979, 25 November 1996
 Withdrawn 17 September 1992
 Fixed rate since 31 December 1998
 Replaced by €, non cash 1 January 1999
 Replaced by €, cash 1 January 2002
= ₤1,936.27
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete.

None, previously:

The lira (Italian: [ˈliːra]; plural lire [ˈliːre]) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002 and of the Albanian Kingdom between 1941 and 1943. Between 1999 and 2002, the Italian lira was officially a national subunit of the euro. However, cash payments could be made in lira only, as euro coins or notes were not yet available. 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; in some countries, such as Cyprus and Malta, the words lira and pound were used as equivalents, before the euro was adopted in 2008 in the two countries. "L", sometimes in a double-crossed script form ("₤"), was the symbol most often used. Until the Second World War, it was subdivided into 100 centesimi (singular: centesimo), which translates to "hundredths" or "cents".

The lira was established at 4.5 grams of silver or 290.322 milligrams of gold. This was a direct continuation of the Sardinian lira. 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. 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: in fact, in various Gallo-Italic dialects in north-western Italy, the lira was outright called "franc". This practice has obviously ended with the introduction of the euro in 2002.


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Wikipedia

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