The
lira was the
currencyIn 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
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
between 1861 and 2002. Between 1999 and 2002, the Italian lira was officially a “national subunit” of the
euroThe euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
. However, physical payments could only be made in lire, as no euro coins or notes were available.
The lira was also the currency of the Napoleonic
Kingdom of ItalyThe Kingdom of Italy was a state founded in Northern Italy by Napoleon, fully influenced by revolutionary France, that ended with his defeat and fall.-Constitutional statutes:...
between 1807 and 1814.
The term originates from the value of a
poundThe pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
weight of high purity
silverSilver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
and as such is a direct cognate of the British pound sterling; in some countries, such as
CyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and
MaltaMalta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, the words
lira and
poundThe pound is a unit of currency in some nations. The term originated in England as the value of a pound of silver.The word pound is the English translation of the Latin word libra, which was the unit of account of the Roman Empire...
were used as equivalents, before the
euroThe euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
was adopted in 2008 in the two countries. "L", sometimes in a double-crossed script form ("₤"), was usually used as the symbol. Until the Second World War, it was subdivided into 100
centesimi (singular:
centesimo), which translates to "one hundredth".
History
The lira ultimately dates back to
CharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
. Like the
pound sterlingThe pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
, it represented one pound weight of silver, and was equal to 20
soldi or 240
denari. Before unification, many of the Italian states used the lira as their currency.
In 1807, the Napoleonic
Kingdom of ItalyThe Kingdom of Italy was a state founded in Northern Italy by Napoleon, fully influenced by revolutionary France, that ended with his defeat and fall.-Constitutional statutes:...
(occupying the north of the current state) introduced the lira as its currency. Equal to the
French francThe franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
, it was divided into 20 soldi or 100 centesimi. The lira circulated until 1814 when the kingdom was divided up into smaller states.
Upon the creation of the Kingdom of Italy under Vittorio Emanuele II (1861), a unified lira was established, at 4.5 grams of silver or 290.322 milligrams of gold. This was a direct continuation of the
Sardinian liraThe lira was the currency of the Kingdom of Sardinia between August 6, 1816 and March 17, 1861. It was subdivided into 100 centesimi and was equal in value to the French franc , which had replaced the Piedmontese shield by 1801...
. Other currencies replaced by the Italian lira included the Lombardy-Venetia pound, the
Two Sicilies piastraThe ducat was the main currency of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies between 1816 and 1860. When the Congress of Vienna created the kingdom merging the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Sicily, the ducat became at par a continuation of the Neapolitan ducat and the Sicilian piastra issued prior to...
, the
Tuscan fiorinoThe florin was the currency of Tuscany between 1826 and 1859. It was subdivided into 100 quattrini , a local currency made by four pennies...
, the
Papal States scudoThe Roman scudo was the currency of the Papal States until 1866. It was subdivided into 100 baiocchi , each of 5 quattrini...
and the
Parman liraThe lira was the distinct currency of Parma before 1802 and again from 1815 to 1859.-First lira:The Duchy of Parma issued its own currency until it was annexed to France in 1802. This lira was subdivided into 20 soldi , each of 12 denari , with the sesino worth 6 denari and the ducato was worth 7...
. In 1865, Italy formed part of the
Latin Monetary UnionThe Latin Monetary Union was a 19th century attempt to unify several European currencies, at a time when most circulating coins were still made of gold and silver...
in which the lira was set as equal to, among others, the
FrenchThe franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
,
BelgianThe franc was the currency of Belgium until 2002 when the euro was introduced into circulation. It was subdivided into centimes , 100 centiem or Centime .-History:...
and
Swiss francThe franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
s: in fact, in various Gallo-Italic
dialectThe term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s in north-western Italy, the lira was outright called
"franc". This practice has obviously ended with the introduction of the euro in 2002.
World War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke the Latin Monetary Union and resulted in prices rising severalfold in Italy.
InflationIn economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
was curbed somewhat by
MussoliniBenito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, who, on August 18, 1926, declared that the exchange rate between lira and pound would be £1 = 90 lire—the so-called
Quota 90The Quota 90 was a controversial revaluation of the lira undertaken by Mussolini, announced on August 18, 1926 at a speech in Pesaro, pegging the exchange rate to 92.46 lira against the Pound sterling by December 1927, which had been the prevailing market rate when Mussolini took power in...
, although the free exchange rate had been closer to 140-150 lire per pound, causing a temporary deflation and widespread problems in the real economy. In 1927, the lira was pegged to the U.S. dollar at a rate of 1 dollar = 19 lire. This rate lasted until 1934, with a separate "tourist" rate of US$1 = 24.89 lire being established in 1936. In 1939, the "official" rate was 19.8 lire.
After the Allied invasion of Italy, an exchange rate was set at US$1 = 120 lire (1 British pound = 480 lire) in June 1943, reduced to 100 lire the following month. In German occupied areas, the exchange rate was set at 1
ReichsmarkThe Reichsmark was the currency in Germany from 1924 until June 20, 1948. The Reichsmark was subdivided into 100 Reichspfennig.-History:...
= 10 lire. After the war, the value of the lira fluctuated, before Italy set a peg of US$1 = 575 lire within the
Bretton Woods SystemThe Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules for commercial and financial relations among the world's major industrial states in the mid 20th century...
in November 1947. Following the devaluation of the pound, Italy devalued to US$1 = 625 lire on 21 September 1949. This rate was maintained until the end of the Bretton Woods System in the early 1970s. Several episodes of high inflation followed until the lira was replaced by the euro.
The lira was the official unit of currency in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
until January 1, 1999, when it was replaced by the
euroThe euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
(euro coins and notes were not introduced until 2002). Old lira denominated currency ceased to be legal tender on February 28, 2002. The conversion rate is 1,936.27 lire to the euro.
All lira banknotes in use immediately before the introduction of the euro, as all post-
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
coins, are still exchangeable for euros in all branches of the Bank of Italy until February 29, 2012.
Redenomination
Although Italian banknotes became unwieldy because of the large number of zeros, efforts at
redenominationRedenomination is the process of changing the face value of banknotes or coins used in circulating currency.When redenomination occurs, financial data that spans the change must be correctly accounted for. For example, the GDP is properly documented....
were unsuccessful for political reasons until the introduction of the
euroThe euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
which had the effect of lopping off excessive zeros.
Napoleonic Coins
The Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy issued coins between 1807 and 1813 in denominations of 1 and 3 centesimi and 1 soldo in copper, 10 centesimi in 20% silver alloy, 5, 10 and 15 soldi, 1, 2 and 5 lire in 90% silver and 20 and 40 lire in 90% gold. All except the 10 centesimi bore a portrait of Napoleon, with the denominations below 1 lira also showing a radiate crown and the higher denominations, a shield representing the various constituent territories of the Kingdom.
Kingdom of Italy, 1861-1946
In 1861, coins were minted in
FlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
,
MilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
,
NaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
and
TurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50 centesimi, 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 lire, with the lowest four in copper, the highest two in gold and the remainder in silver. In 1863, silver coins below 5 lire were debased from 90% to 83.5% and silver 20 centesimi coins were introduced. Minting switched to
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in the 1870s.
Apart from the introduction in 1894 of cupro-nickel (later nickel) 20 centesimi coins and of nickel 25 centesimi pieces in 1902, the coinage remained essentially unaltered until the First World War.
In 1919, with a purchase power of the lira reduced to 1/5 of that of 1914, 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. In 1926, silver 5 and 10 lire coins were introduced, equal in size and composition to the earlier 1 and 2 lire coins. Silver 20 lire coins were added in 1927.
In 1936, the last substantial issue of silver coins was made, whilst, in 1939, moves to reduce the cost of the coinage lead to copper being replaced by aluminium bronze and nickel by stainless steel. All issuance of coinage came to a halt in 1943.
Republic, 1946-2002
In 1946 coin production was resumed, although only in 1948, with a purchase power of the lira reduced to 1/50 of that of 1939, did numbers minted exceed 1 million. To begin with, four denominations were issued in aluminium, 1, 2, 5 and 10 lire: these coins were in circulation together with the
AM-lireThe AM-lira was the currency issued in Italy by AMGOT after the invasion of Sicily in 1943. 100 AM-lire worth as 1 US dollar.-History:...
and some of the old, de-valuated kingdom's coins. In 1951, the government decided to replace all the circulating coins and bills with new smaller-sized 1, 2, 5 and 10 aluminium lire (although the 2 lire wasn't minted in 1951 or 1952) and in 1954-1955, an
AcmonitalAcmonital is a Stainless Steel alloy consisting mostly of Iron, with 0.14% Carbon, 17.5-19% Chrome, 0.50% Magnesium, 1.15% Silicium, 0.03% Sulfur, and 0.03% Phosphorus by weight....
(stainless-steel) 50 and 100 lire coins were introduced, followed by aluminium-bronze 20 lire in 1957 and silver 500 lire in 1958. Rises in the silver bullion price lead to the 500 lire coins being produced only in small numbers for collectors after 1967. The 500 lire (and later the 1000) were also used for a number of
commemorative coinCommemorative coins are coins that were issued to commemorate some particular event or issue. Most world commemorative coins were issued from the 1960s onward, although there are numerous examples of commemorative coins of earlier date. Such coins have a distinct design with reference to the...
issues, such as the centennial of
Italian unificationItalian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
in 1961.
In 1977, aluminium-bronze 200 lire coins were introduced, followed in 1982 by the bi-metallic 500 lire. This was the first bi-metallic coin to be produced for circulation, minted using a system patented by IPZS. It was also the first to feature the value in
brailleThe Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
.
Production of the 1 and 2 lire coins for circulation ceased in 1959; their mintage was restarted from 1982 to 2001 for collectors coin sets. Production of the 5 lire was highly reduced in the late 1970s and ceased for circulation in 1998. Analogously, in 1991 the production for the 10 and 20 lire coins was limited. The sizes of the 50 and 100 lire coins were reduced in 1990 but were then increased somewhat in 1993. A bimetallic 1,000 lire coin was introduced in 1997 and stopped in 1998.
Coins still minted for circulation at the time of the changeover to euro (in 2000 and 2001 only liras for collectors coins sets were minted) were:
- 10 lire (only for collectors)
- 20 lire (only for collectors)
- 50 lire (2.58 cent)
- 100 lire (5.16 cent)
- 200 lire (10.33 cent)
- 500 lire (25.82 cent)
- 1,000 lire (51.65 cent)
Banknotes
In 1882, the government began issuing small value paper money bearing the title "Biglietto di Stato". To begin with, there were 5 and 10 lire notes, to which 25 lire notes were occasionally added from 1895. The government also issued notes titled "Buono di Cassa" between 1893 and 1922 in denominations of 1 and 2 lire. Production of Biglietto di Stato ceased in 1925 but resumed in 1935 with notes for 1, 2, 5 and 10 lire being introduced by 1939.
The
Bank of ItalyBanca d'Italia is the central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks. It is located in Palazzo Koch, Roma, via Nazionale...
began producing paper money in 1896. To begin with, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 lire notes were issued. In 1918-1919, 25 lire notes were also issued but no other denominations were introduced until after the
Second World WarWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
In 1943, the invading Allies introduced notes in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 lire. These were followed in 1944 by a series of Biglietto di Stato for 1, 2, 5 and 10 lire, which circulated until replaced by coins in the late 1940s. In 1945, the Bank of Italy introduced 5,000 and 10,000 lire notes.
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. 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 2,000 lire in 1973, 20,000 lire in 1975 and 500,000 lire in 1997.
Notes in circulation when the euro was introduced were:
- 1,000 lire, Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori was an Italian physician and educator, a noted humanitarian and devout Catholic best known for the philosophy of education which bears her name...
, (€ 0.516)
- 2,000 lire, Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
, (€ 1.03)
- 5,000 lire, Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
, (€ 2.58)
- 10,000 lire, Alessandro Volta
Count Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Gerolamo Umberto Volta was a Lombard physicist known especially for the invention of the battery in 1800.-Early life and works:...
, (€ 5.16)
- 50,000 lire, Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...
, (€ 25.82)
- 100,000 lire, Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. His paintings, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, had a formative influence on the Baroque...
, (€ 51.65)
- 500,000 lire, Raffaello
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
, (€ 258.23 )
Gallery
Banknotes circulating in 1951
Banknotes circulating in 1973
Banknotes circulating in 1982
Banknotes circulating in 2000
Vatican City
The
Vatican liraThe lira was the currency of the Vatican City between 1929 and 2002.-History:The Papal States, by then reduced to a smaller area close to Rome, used its own lira between 1866 and 1870, after which it ceased to exist...
(plural
lire) was the official unit of the Vatican City State. It was on par to the Italian lira on the terms on the concordat with Italy. Italian lira notes and coins were legal tender throughout the Vatican City State. Specific Vatican coins were minted in Rome, being legal tender also in Italy and San Marino.
The Vatican City state has switched to the euro like Italy. As with old vatican lira coins, the Vatican City has
its own setVatican euro coins are issued by the Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Vatican City State and minted by Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato , in Rome, Italy...
of
euro coinsThere are eight euro coin denominations, ranging from one cent to two euros . The coins first came into use in 2002. They have a common reverse, portraying a map of Europe, but each country in the eurozone has its own design on the obverse, which means that each coin has a variety of different...
.
San Marino
The Sammarinese lira (plural
lire) was the official unit of San Marino. It was on par to the Italian lira.
Italian lira notes and coins were legal tender in San Marino, but specific San Marinese coins were minted in Rome, being legal tender in Italy, as well as the Vatican City.
San Marino has switched to the euro like Italy. As with old San Marino lira coins, this country has its own set of
euro coinsThere are eight euro coin denominations, ranging from one cent to two euros . The coins first came into use in 2002. They have a common reverse, portraying a map of Europe, but each country in the eurozone has its own design on the obverse, which means that each coin has a variety of different...
.
See also
- Economy of Italy
Italy has a diversified industrial economy with high gross domestic product per capita and developed infrastructure. According to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the CIA World Factbook, in 2010 Italy was the seventh-largest economy in the world and the third-largest in Europe...
- Italian euro coins
Italian euro coins have a design unique to each denomination, though there is a common theme of famous Italian works of art from one of Italy's renowned artists...
- Economy of San Marino
The economy of San Marino is focussed around industries such as banking, wearing apparel, electronics, and ceramics, tiles, furniture, clothing, paints, fabrics, and spirits/wines. In addition, San Marino sells collectible postage stamps to philatelists...
- Sammarinese euro coins
- Economy of the Vatican City
The unique, noncommercial economy of Vatican City is supported financially by contributions from Roman Catholics throughout the world, the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications.The Vatican also conducts worldwide financial...
- Vatican euro coins
Vatican euro coins are issued by the Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Vatican City State and minted by Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato , in Rome, Italy...
External links