Honduran lempira

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Honduran lempira
lempira hondureño  (Spanish)
ISO 4217 code HNL
Central bank Central Bank of Honduras
 Website www.bch.hn
User(s)  Honduras
Inflation 7.7%
 Source Central Bank of Honduras, June 2011.
Subunit
 1/100 centavo
Symbol L
Coins 5, 10, 20, 50 centavos
Banknotes L1, L2, L5, L10, L20, L50, L100, L500

The lempira (/lɛmˈpɪrə/, sign: L, ISO 4217 code: HNL) is the currency of Honduras. It is subdivided into 100 centavos.

Etymology

The lempira was named after the 16th-century cacique Lempira, a ruler of the indigenous Lenca people, who is renowned in Honduran folklore for leading the (ultimately unsuccessful) local native resistance against the Spanish conquistador forces. He is a national hero, and is honoured on both the 1 lempira note and the 20 and 50 centavos coins.

International exchange rate

Current HNL exchange rates
From Google Finance: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR CNY TWD
From Yahoo! Finance: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR CNY TWD
From XE: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR CNY TWD
From OANDA: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR CNY TWD
From fxtop.com: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR CNY TWD
From Currency.Wiki: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR CNY TWD

History

The lempira was introduced in 1931, replacing the peso at par. In the late 1980s, the exchange rate was two lempiras to the U.S. dollar (the 20 centavos coin is called a daime as it was worth the same as a U.S. dime). As of June 11, 2015, the lempira was quoted at 21.93 HNL to 1 USD.

Coins

In 1931, coins were introduced in denominations of 5, 20 & 50 centavos & 1 lempira. 1, 2 & 10 centavos coins were added in 1935, 1939 & 1932 respectively. The silver 1 lempira coins ceased production in 1937, with the other silver coins (20 & 50 centavos) replaced by cupro-nickel in 1967.

Coins currently in circulation are [1]

  • 1 centavos
  • 2 centavos
  • 5 centavos
  • 10 centavos
  • 20 centavos
  • 50 centavos

Banknotes

The Bank of Honduras and the Banco Atlantida issued the first lempira banknotes in 1932. They were in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 lempiras. The Central Bank of Honduras took over production of paper money in 1950, introducing 50 lempiras notes in 1951. In 1975, 100 lempiras notes were added, followed by 500 lempiras in 1995.

In January, 2010, a new 20 Lempira note was introduced to market made by a polymer base, 60 million notes were issued.[1]

Banknotes in circulation are [2]

Image New Value Color Dimensions Obverse
1Lempira.jpg L1 Red 156 × 67 mm Lempira
2Lempira.jpg L2 Purple Marco Aurelio Soto
5Lempira.jpg L5 Gray Francisco Morazán
10Lempira.jpg L10 Brown José Trinidad Cabañas
20Lempira.jpg L20 Green Dionisio de Herrera
50Lempira.jpg L50 Cyan Juan Manuel Gálvez
100Lempira.jpg L100 Orange José Cecilio del Valle
L500 Blue Ramón Rosa

See also

References

External links