250 000 Lira

The 250,000 Lira denomination entered circulation during a period of severe chronic inflation in Turkey — by the late 1990s, the lira had depreciated so catastrophically against major currencies that notes of this face value were buying little more than a loaf of bread. The series to which P#211 belongs eventually culminated in denominations reaching 20,000,000 Lira before the 2005 redenomination stripped six zeros from the currency entirely, replacing it with the Yeni Türk Lirası at a rate of 1,000,000 old lira to one new.

The extended print run from 1998 to 2001 reflects how long the hyperinflationary spiral persisted before the banking crisis of 2001 forced structural reforms.