1 Lira Asian Lion

Turkey's 2011 bimetallic lira series was part of a broader rebranding effort following the catastrophic inflation that had rendered the old lira essentially worthless — by 2004, one U.S. dollar bought roughly 1.35 million lira. The redenomination of 2005, which introduced the New Turkish Lira at a rate of one million to one, was itself replaced by the simply-named "Turkish Lira" in 2009, making this 2011 piece an early issue of the restored currency. The Anatolian lion depicted belongs to a wildlife series celebrating endemic and historically significant fauna of the region.