500 Lira Year of the Child

Turkey issued this piece as part of the United Nations International Year of the Child, a globally observed initiative that prompted commemorative programs from dozens of mints in 1979. The Turkish State Mint produced several denominations for the series, with this 500 Lira piece sitting at the top of the range in both size and gold content. Mintages were modest and oriented almost entirely toward the collector and export market — inflationary pressure on the Turkish lira during the late 1970s had made gold hoarding common, complicating the domestic reception of any official gold issue.