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15 000 000 Lira Süreyya Ayhan
| Issuer | Turkey State Mint (Darphane) |
|---|---|
| Year | 2003 |
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| Currency | Old lira (1923-2005) |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A full-figure depiction of athlete Süreyya Ayhan raising the Turkish national flag above her head in a victory pose, wearing her competition bib numbered '1531' with 'MUNICH 2002' inscribed upon it, commemorating her gold medal at the 2002 European Athletics Championships. The legend 'SÜREYYA AYHAN İLK KADIN AVRUPA ŞAMPİYONU ATLETİMİZ' (Süreyya Ayhan, our first female European champion athlete) arcs around the periphery in Latin script. |
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| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
Süreyya Ayhan was, at the time of this coin's issue, Turkey's most celebrated middle-distance runner — a world champion in the 1500m who had risen from rural Anatolia to dominate European and world circuits. The timing proved unfortunate. Within two years, she received a two-year doping ban following positive tests for testosterone, later extended to a lifetime ban by the IAAF after further violations were attributed to her coach and entourage.
The denomination reflects Turkey's late-lira inflation crisis, which had pushed face values into the tens of millions before the 2005 redenomination stripped six zeros from the currency entirely.