Gold is one of the world’s most desirable precious metals, making it a go-to investment choice among investors seeking protection against rising inflation or declining paper currency values.
Italian 20 Lira Gold Coins are historical pieces that mark the early beginnings of Italy as a modern nation state. Crafted to the same high standards as Swiss, French, and Belgian 20 Franc coins; they make for excellent retirement and investment portfolio pieces.
Turkey’s Economy
Turkey’s gold lira is an integral component of its economy, from extraction and refining all the way through exchange bourses and futures trading. Gold bars serve as stores of value in an economy plagued by inflation and decreasing currency values over time.
Turkey’s central bank has spent billions of dollars trying to prop up the lira. Private-sector demand for euros and dollars is far exceeding official reserves; at one point last year, over two-thirds of bank deposits held foreign currency deposits. To combat dollarisation, authorities introduced a scheme indemnifying depositors who switch out of dollars and euros in favor of Turkish liras – this move may help halt this trend and prevent another credit-driven crash similar to 2010-11 in Europe – time will tell.
The Lira’s Purity
When purchasing gold coins, buyers are usually focused on two factors – their purity and weight. Gold purity can be expressed using the karat system (abbreviated “kt”) with higher numbers representing greater gold fineness. Pure gold would be far too soft for practical minted coins to use without additional metal alloying to make it stronger enough to trade and transport.
Italian 20 Lire Gold Coins were released for circulation throughout Italy after unification as a kingdom and nation in 1861, at various minting sites throughout Italy. Produced to meet the same high specifications of popular French, Swiss, and Belgian 20 Franc coins; these Italian coins contain one fifth of an ounce of gold at.1867 oz making them an excellent investment choice or addition to any world coin collection.
The Lira’s Weight
The gold lira was Italy’s currency from 1861 to 2002. Although no longer legal tender, these pieces still make a great investment or coin collection piece.
These Italian gold coins were designed to meet the same stringent standards set out for French, Swiss and Belgian 20 Franc coins. Each contains approximately 0.1867 troy ounces of pure gold content.
These coins feature portraits of Victor Emanuel and Umberto I, dukes of Savoy who became kings of an united Italy during the late 1800s. Thus, these coins carry historical importance that surpasses any numismatic value offered by world bullion coins.
The handleless lira, commonly referred to as the quarter horse lira, weighs 7.20 grams and can be combined with different handles to form jewelry. These gold models are commonly sold at reasonable prices as jewelry items and are perfect for adding a classic yet contemporary feel to any ensemble.
The Lira’s Design
The value of the lira fluctuated throughout history. From being pegged to both the French franc and British pound to hard and soft pegs with the dollar – at one point even ranking alongside Romanian leu as world’s least valuable currency unit – its value shifted accordingly.
After years of uncertainty, the government reevaluated their currency in 2005 with the erasure of six zeroes and creation of the Turkish Lira (“Yeni Turk Lirasi”).
No longer valuable as its predecessor, Turkey’s new currency still plays an integral part of both culture and history. Its design features prominently in Turkish culture and history – its symbol – an anchor-like sign with upward-pointing parallel lines – emphasizes confidence in the lira’s steadily increasing value; selected through a national competition with seven nominees; President Recep Tayyip Erdogan doesn’t appear on banknotes but instead war hero Seyit Cabuk is featured prominently on five lira bills instead.