2,5 Lira Coronavirus

Issued in 2022 as part of Turkey's commemorative program marking the COVID-19 pandemic, this bronze piece belongs to a broader wave of pandemic-themed coinage that circulated across dozens of issuing authorities between 2020 and 2023. Turkey's public health response during the pandemic was administered under considerable political pressure, with President Erdoğan's government facing scrutiny over delayed lockdown measures and data transparency. The 2.5 lira denomination itself is a relic of the 2005 redenomination that stripped six zeros from the old Turkish lira following years of chronic inflation.