40 Yeni Lira Traditional Turkish Handcrafts

Turkey's "Yeni" (New) Lira designation, introduced in 2005 to replace the old lira at a rate of one million to one, was itself short-lived — the "Yeni" prefix was dropped in 2009, making this 2008 issue one of the final coins struck under that transitional nomenclature. The redenomination was one of the more dramatic currency reforms in modern European economic history, erasing six zeros accumulated largely through the inflation crises of the 1970s–90s.

This piece belongs to a collector-focused series documenting intangible cultural heritage, issued the same year Turkey was actively lobbying UNESCO for recognition of several traditional crafts. KM#1225 was struck in limited proof quantities for the collector market and saw no meaningful circulation.