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Piastre

 
Piastre

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Piastre



 
 
The piastre or piaster was a unit of currency. It was originally equal to one silver dollar
Dollar

The dollar is the name of the official currency in several countries, including the US, Australia, and Canada, dependencies and other world regions....
 or peso
Peso

The word peso was the name of a coin that originated in Spain and became of immense importance internationally. Peso is now the name of the monetary unit of several former Spanish Empire....
, served as the major unit of currency of French Indochina
French Indochina

French Indochina was the part of the French colonial empire in Indochina in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin, Annam, and Cochinchina, as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
 (Present-day Vietnam
Vietnam

Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....
, Cambodia
Cambodia

The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country in South East Asia with a population of over 13 million people. The kingdom's capital and largest city is Phnom Penh....
, and Laos
Laos

Laos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west....
), and in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
.








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Frenchindochinacentpiastres
The piastre or piaster was a unit of currency. It was originally equal to one silver dollar
Dollar

The dollar is the name of the official currency in several countries, including the US, Australia, and Canada, dependencies and other world regions....
 or peso
Peso

The word peso was the name of a coin that originated in Spain and became of immense importance internationally. Peso is now the name of the monetary unit of several former Spanish Empire....
, served as the major unit of currency of French Indochina
French Indochina

French Indochina was the part of the French colonial empire in Indochina in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin, Annam, and Cochinchina, as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
 (Present-day Vietnam
Vietnam

Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....
, Cambodia
Cambodia

The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country in South East Asia with a population of over 13 million people. The kingdom's capital and largest city is Phnom Penh....
, and Laos
Laos

Laos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west....
), and in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
.

As a main unit

  • French Indochinese piastre
    French Indochinese piastre

    The piastre was the currency of French Indochina between 1885 and 1952. It was subdivided into 100 cent, each of 5 sapeque....
  • Ottoman Turkish piastre


As a subunit

  • 1/100 of the Egyptian pound
    Egyptian pound

    The Egyptian pound or gineih is the currency of Egypt. It is divided into 100 qirsh , or 1000 malleem .The ISO 4217 code is EGP....
  • 1/100 of the Jordanian dinar
    Jordanian dinar

    The dinar is the currency of Jordan. The dinar is divided into 10 dirham, 100 qirsh or 1000 fils .The Jordanian dinar also circulates in West Bank together with the Israeli new sheqel....
  • 1/100 of the Lebanese pound
    Lebanese pound

    The Lebanese pound is the currency unit of Lebanon. It is divided into 100 qirsh or piastres but inflation has eliminated the subdivisions....
  • 1/100 of the Sudanese pound
    Sudanese pound

    The Sudanese pound is the currency of Sudan. Arabic names for the denominations appear on Sudanese coins, whilst both Arabic and English appear on the country's banknotes....
  • 1/100 of the Syrian pound
    Syrian pound

    The Syrian pound is the currency of Syria and is issued by the . The pound is subdivided into 100 qirsh , although coins in qirsh are no longer issued....


Informal usage

  • Early private bank currency issues in French-speaking
    Canadian French

    Canadian French is an umbrella term for the varieties of the French language used in Canada. French is the mother tongue of about seven million Canadians and is one of the country's two official languages, along with English language....
     regions of Canada
    Canada

    Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
     were denominated in piastres. The term is still unofficially used in Quebec
    Quebec French

    Quebec French , or less often Qu?b?cois French, is the predominant variety of the French language in Canada, in its Register #Register as formality scale registers....
     and Acadian
    Acadian French

    Acadian French is a Variety or dialect of French language spoken by francophone Acadians in the Canada Maritimes, the Saint John River Valley in northern Maine, the Magdalen Islands and Havre-Saint-Pierre, along the St....
     slang as a reference to the Canadian dollar
    Canadian dollar

    The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies....
     (the official French term for the modern Canadian dollar is dollar).


  • Piastre was also the original French word for the United States
    United States

    The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
     dollar, used for example in the French text of the Louisiana Purchase
    Louisiana Purchase

    The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of the French territory Louisiana in 1803. The U.S. paid 60 million French franc plus cancellation of debts worth 18 million francs , a total cost of $15,000,000 for the Louisiana territory....
     and that usage is still common in Cajun French
    Cajun French

    Cajun French is one of three Variety or dialects of the French language spoken primarily in the U.S. state of Louisiana, specifically in the southern parishes....
    . Modern French uses dollar for this unit of currency as well. The term is still used as slang for US dollars in the French speaking Caribbean islands, most notably Haiti.


  • Piastre is another name for kurus
    Kurus

    Kurus is a Turkey currency subunit. Since 2005, one new Turkish lira is equal to 100 kurus. The kurus was also the standard unit of currency in the Ottoman Empire until 1844, and from that date until the late 1970s was a subdivision of the former lira....
    , 1/100 of the Turkish new lira, as well as the old lira
    Turkish lira

    The Turkish lira is the currency of Turkey and the non-recognized nations of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The lira is subdivided into 100 kurus....
    .


  • The Piastre is still used in Mauritius
    Mauritius

    Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius, , is an island nation off the coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 900 kilometres east of Madagascar....
     when bidding in auction sales, similarly to the way that guineas are used at racehorse auctions in England. It is equivalent to 2 rupees.


See also

  • Piastra
    Piastra

    The piastra is a historical currency used in some parts of what became Italy before unification in the 19th century. For more information, see:...