Turkey’s Central Bank is preparing to inject the newly minted five-lira coin into circulation following the week of the Eid Al-Adha holiday. The Turkish lira has been rapidly losing value with inflation, rendering smaller bills and coins useless for many.
In an Official Gazette notice, the Turkish Treasury and Finance Ministry stated that the minting of new coinage worth five liras (0.15 dollar cents) was complete and ready for distribution.
The Turkish State Mint announced that the five lira bill would be minted as a coin, as smaller coins have become nearly useless amid inflation.
According to a report by the online news outlet Ekonomim, the Central Bank, prepared for the coins’ distribution and planned to release them through branches the week following the Eid Al-Adha holiday.
Businesses or institutions requiring the five lira coins could obtain them from Central Bank branches in their respective provinces starting the week after the holiday.
The coins will become the largest and heaviest coin currently in use in Turkey, with a diameter of 28.15 millimeters, a thickness of 1.70 millimeters, and a weight of 8.25 grams.
The State Mint responded to inflation in 2023 by decreasing the weight and thickness of the one-lira coin, the then-largest coin in use.
State Mint representatives had refused allegations that a five-lira coin and 500-lira bill were on the way in 2022, calling the claims “attempts to rouse polemics.”
Currently, the cost of a standard bottle of water costs between 7-10 Turkish liras, and a single loaf of bread costs 10 liras.