Vatican lira

Vatican lira
lira vaticana (Italian)
500 lire
ISO 4217 code	VAL
User(s)	None, previously: Italy, San Marino, Vatican City
ERM
Since	13 March 1979, 25 November 1996 1
Withdrawn	16 September 1992 (Black Wednesday)
Fixed rate since	31 December 1998
Replaced by €, non cash	1 January 1999
Replaced by €, cash	1 January 2002
€ =	1936.27 lire
Subunit
1/100	centesimo Subunits were abolished after WWII
Symbol	₤, £ or L
Plural	lire
centesimo	centesimi
Coins
Freq. used	50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 lire
Rarely used	10, 20 lire
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete.
1 indirectly (1:1 peg to ITL)

The lira (plural lire) was the currency of the Vatican City between 1929 and 2002.

History

The Papal States, by then reduced to a smaller area close to Rome, used its own lira between 1866 and 1870, after which it ceased to exist. In 1929, the Lateran Treaty established the State of the Vatican City and, according with the terms of the Treaty, a distinct coinage was introduced, denominated in centesimi and lire, on par with the Italian lira. Italian coins and banknotes were legal tender in the Vatican City. The Vatican coins were minted in Rome and were also legal tender in Italy and San Marino.

In 2002, the Vatican City switched to the euro at an exchange rate of 1 euro = 1936.27 lira. It has its own set of euro coins.

Coins

In 1929, copper 5 and 10 centesimi, nickel 20 and 50 centesimi, 1 and 2 lire, and silver 5 and 10 lire coins were introduced. In 1939, aluminium bronze replaced copper and, in 1940, stainless steel replaced nickel. Between 1941 and 1943, production of the various denominations was reduced to only a few thousand per year.

In 1947, a new coinage was introduced consisting of aluminium 1, 2, 5 and 10 lire. The sizes of these coins were reduced in 1951. In 1955, stainless steel 50 and 100 lire were introduced, followed by aluminium bronze 20 lire in 1957 and silver 500 lire in 1958. The 1 and 2 lire ceased production in 1977, followed by the 5 lire in 1978. Aluminium-bronze 200 lire were introduced in 1978, followed by bi-metallic 500 and 1000 lire in 1985 and 1997, respectively.

See also

• Vatican euro coins
• Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Vatican City State
• Economy of the Vatican City
• Index of Vatican City-related articles