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Turkish lira banknotes- General information


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Five Turkish lira banknote Ten Turkish lira banknote Twenty Turkish lira banknote Fifty Turkish lira banknote One hundred Turkish lira banknote Two hundred Turkish lira banknote

The Turkish lira, Currency sign: TRY is the currency of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (recognized only by Turkey). The Turkish lira is subdivided into 100 kurus. All obverse sides of current banknotes and reverse sides of current coins have portraits of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Since the foundation of the Republic, banknotes have been put into circulation in 24 different values, 126 series and in 9 issue groups. All of the banknotes in the first eight emission groups were withdrawn from circulation at various dates and lost their values at the end of their 10-year redemption periods.

First emission group(E1)

The decision to issue the first banknotes (E1) of the Republic of Turkey was made by a committee chaired by Abdülhalik Renda, the Minister of Finance. At the end of a nine month- study, the First Emission Group Turkish lira banknotes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 Turkish liras were printed by an English printing firm, Thomas De La Rue. The banknotes were printed by intaglio technique on papers with watermarks.

The first emission group banknotes were put into circulation on 5 December 1927. As banknotes of this emission group were printed before the Alphabet Revolution introduced on 1 November 1928, their main text was in Ottoman script, whereas the denominations were in French.

Second emission group(E2)

After the CBRT was established, the banknotes which were printed in Ottoman script before the Alphabet Revolution were replaced with new banknotes carrying the Latin alphabet. This emission group, called the 2nd Emission Group, features both Atatürk’s and İsmet İnönü’s (the second President of the Republic) portraits on banknotes.

The new banknotes were printed in 9 denominations and 11 series, consisting of denominations of 50 Kurus, 1, 2 ½, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 Turkish liras. Except the 50 Kurus banknotes, which were printed in Germany, all banknotes were printed in the UK.

This emission group, called the 2nd Emission Group, features both Atatürk’s and İsmet İnönü’s (the second President of the Republic) portraits on banknotes

The Second Emission Group (E2) was put into circulation between 1937 and 1944 by the Central Bank and the 5 Turkish lira banknotes were the first to be circulated. Some banknotes in this emission group could not be put into circulation due to the Second World War. For instance, 50 Kurus and 100 Turkish lira banknotes, which featured the portrait of İnönü and were printed in the UK, were damaged in a ship attack in the Port of Piraeus on their way to Turkey. Also, the 50 Turkish lira banknotes could not be put into circulation because the plant, printing the banknotes in London, was damaged in an air raid.

Third emission group(E3)

The Third Emission Group (E3) banknotes, all of which featured the portrait of İsmet İnönü, stayed in circulation between 1942 and 1947. Banknotes in this group were printed in the UK, Germany and the USA.

The Third Emission Group banknotes were printed in 6 denominations of 2 ½ , 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 Turkish liras and 7 series.

Fourth emission group(E4)

The Fourth Emission Group banknotes were printed in two denominations of 10 and 100 Turkish liras and 3 series. This is the emission group with the least number of denominations and series in all emission groups. The Fourth Emission Group banknotes, which were printed in the USA, were put into circulation in 1947 and 1948.

Fifth emission group(E5)

The Fifth Emission Group banknotes were printed in 7 denominations of 2 ½ , 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 Turkish liras and in 32 series. They were in circulation between 1951 and 1971.

Attempts to establish a banknote printing plant in Turkey were initiated towards the end of the 1930s but postponed due to the Second World War. In 1951, efforts started again, and the Banknote Printing Plant was finished and started producing banknotes in 1958.

The Fifth Emission Group banknotes were printed in the UK, Germany and the USA until the establishment of the Banknote Printing Plant. The first banknotes printed in Turkey were the 1,000 Turkish lira banknotes in the third series of the 5th Emission Group. The 1,000 Turkish lira banknote, which was referred to as the “Purple Thousand", was in this Emission Group.

Sixth emission group(E6)

The Sixth Emission Group banknotes were issued in 7 different denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 Turkish liras and in 18 series. This emission group stayed in circulation between 1966 and 1983. The 20 Turkish lira banknote in the 1st series was printed in the UK and all others were printed in Turkey. E7 Emission Group banknotes were withdrawn on 1 January 2006 and their redemption period terminated on 31 December 2015.

Seventh emission group(E7)

All of E7 Emission Group banknotes were printed in Turkey. Banknotes in this emission group started to be put into circulation in 1979. The E7 group banknotes were printed in 15 denominations of 10, 100, 500, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000, 250,000, 500,000, 1,000,000, 5,000,000, 10,000,000 and 20,000,000 Turkish liras and in 36 series. All E7 group banknotes were printed in Turkey.

Eight emission group(E8)

The Eighth Issue (E8) banknotes were printed in the framework of the decision to drop six zeros from the Turkish currency in accordance with the Law on the Currency Unit of the Republic of Turkey (Law No: 5083, dated 28.01.2004). This issue group was put into circulation on 1 January 2005 and consisted of 6 denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 New Turkish liras. All of the E8 group banknotes were printed in Turkey. The Eighth Emission Group banknotes were withdrawn on 1 January 2010 and their redemption period terminated on 31 December 2019.

Ninth emission group(E9)

The Ninth Emission Group Turkish lira banknotes were issued in 6 denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 Turkish liras and in 5 series.

E9 Emission Group Banknotes of 1st Series entered into circulation on 1 January 2009. Second series of 10, 20 and 100 Turkish lira banknotes were put into circulation on 24 December 2012; and 5, 50 and 200 Turkish lira banknotes were put into circulation on 8 April 2013. Third Series 5, 10 and 200 Turkish lira banknotes were put into circulation on 27 March 2017; 50 and 100 Turkish lira banknotes were put into circulation on 17 July 2017, 20 Turkish lira banknotes were put into circulation on 24 December 2018. Fourth Series 5, 20 and 200 Turkish lira banknotes were put into circulation on 02 March 2020; 50 Turkish lira banknotes were put into circulation on 23 March 2020, 10 Turkish lira banknotes were put into circulation on 04 May 2020, 100 TL banknotes were put into circulation on 20 May 2020. Fifth Series 10 and 200 Turkish lira banknotes were put into circulation on 16 July 2021; 5 and 20 Turkish lira banknotes were put into circulation on 29 September 2021.

Series I, II, III, IV and V banknotes will be in circulation concurrently.

General Directorate of Banknote Printing Plant, which has been producing turkish banknotes since 1958.

Sources:
tcmb.gov.tr
wikipedia.org