1 Kuruş Asian Lion

Part of Turkey's "Animals of Asia" bullion and collector series launched in the early 2020s, this issue reflects the Darphane's deliberate push into themed wildlife coinage to compete in an international collector market long dominated by the Royal Mint and Perth Mint. The Asian lion — nearly extinct on the subcontinent, with the last viable wild population confined to India's Gir Forest — gives the coin an oblique conservation angle the Turkish mint has not formally advertised.