Catalog
1 Lira
| Issuer | Republic of Turkey |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940-1941 |
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| Engraver(s) | Percy Metcalfe |
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| Obverse description | Bare-headed left-facing bust of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder and first President of the Turkish Republic, rendered in high relief with finely detailed hair and strong facial features. The portrait occupies the central field, engraved by Percy Metcalfe in a clean, modernist style characteristic of early Republican Turkish coinage. The circular legend reads TÜRKIYE CUMHURIYETI (Republic of Turkey), distributed along the periphery in bold Latin capitals. A fine dentilated border frames the entire design. |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Turkey's entry into World War II was a matter of careful neutrality, but the economic pressure was immediate. The 1940–41 silver lira was minted while Ankara was simultaneously negotiating the Clodius Agreement with Nazi Germany and a mutual assistance pact with Britain and France — extracting maximum advantage from both sides. Wartime silver hoarding hit Turkish coinage hard, and issues from these two years were largely pulled from circulation and melted as the metal premium climbed.