Historical banknotes from the second, third and fourth issues have portraits of İsmet İnönü on the obverse side. This change was done according to the 12 January 1926 issue of the official gazette[4][5] and canceled by the Democrat Party after World War II.
After periods of the lira pegged to the British pound and the French franc, a peg of 2.8 Turkish lira = 1 U.S. dollar was adopted in 1946 and maintained until 1960, when the currency was devalued to 9 Turkish lira = 1 dollar. From 1970, a series of hard, then soft pegs to the dollar operated as the value of the Turkish lira began to fall.
1966 – 1 U.S. dollar = 9 Turkish lira
1980 – 1 U.S. dollar = 90 Turkish lira
1988 – 1 U.S. dollar = 1,300 Turkish lira
1995 – 1 U.S. dollar = 45,000 Turkish lira
2001 – 1 U.S. dollar = 1,650,000 Turkish lira
The Guinness Book of Records ranked the Turkish lira as the world's least valuable currency in 1995 and 1996, and again from 1999 to 2004. The Turkish lira had slid in value so far that one original gold lira coin could be sold for 154,400,000 Turkish lira before the 2005 revaluation.
In December 2003, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey passed a law that allowed for redenomination by the removal of six zeros from the Turkish lira, and the creation of a new currency. It was introduced on 1 January 2005, replacing the previous Turkish lira (which remained valid in circulation until the end of 2005) at a rate of 1 second Turkish lira (ISO 4217 code "TRY") = 1,000,000 first Turkish lira (ISO 4217 code "TRL"). With the revaluation of the Turkish lira, the Romanian leu (also revalued in July 2005) briefly became the world's least valued currency unit. At the same time, the Government introduced two new banknotes called TRY100 and TRY50.
In the transition period between January 2005 and December 2008, the second Turkish lira was officially called Yeni Türk Lirası (New Turkish lira).[6] It was officially abbreviated "YTL" and subdivided into 100 new kuruş (yeni kuruş). Starting in January 2009, the "new" marking was removed from the second Turkish lira, its official name becoming just "Turkish lira" again, abbreviated "TL". All obverse sides of current banknotes have portraits of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Until 2016, the same held for the reverse sides of all current coins, but in 2016 one-lira coins were issued to commemorate the "martyrs and veterans" of the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, the reverse sides of some of which depict hands holding up a Turkish flag while others show in stylized form a collection of five-pointed stars topped by a Turkish flag.[7]
Erdogan may risk losing the “mandate of Heaven”, with the re-awakening of the Turks much feared inflation/devaluation bogeyman.
Erdogan’s economic successes had to do largely with lucky timing (global capital flows toward developing economies), incorporating a batch EU recommended policy changes, a flood of EU investment, and still being able to freely print more money into the rapidly growing GDP. Turkey was then one of the best options for Global capital, looking for higher returns.
Well the boost of the early reforms has past, and his new policies (cronyism) are an increasing drag. He has driven away European investors dramatically, and luck is not with him now, as a growing US economy is attracting capital back from developing economies. Turkey is becoming significantly less attractive to investors, as compared to other emerging markets due to political risk and less rule of law in commerce. There is growing fear about the risks in Turkey.
Erdogan has continued printing money though, and now his budget deficits (previously held in check procedurally in the Legislature) are breaking out from historical norms, under his increasingly autocratic whims. Now its time for the economy to pay the bill for the over-printing of money into a sharply slowing economy.
LOL! I had no idea Turkey had such a terrible monetary past.