Turkey Banknotes: History, Notable Notes and Collecting Guide
From handwritten Ottoman kaime to notes denominated in the tens of millions, Turkish paper money compresses nearly two centuries of monetary drama into a single collection. And through most of it runs one face: Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Last updated: July 2026
The Turkish lira is the official currency of Turkey, issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey since 1931. Its paper trail reaches back to the Ottoman kaime of 1840, runs through decades of chronic inflation that pushed denominations to 20,000,000 lira, and resets on January 1, 2005, when the country dropped six zeros to create the New Turkish lira. This hub walks through that history, the notes collectors prize, and how to start a Turkey collection.
Did the Ottoman Empire use paper money?
Yes, and remarkably early. The empire's first paper money, the kaime, appeared in 1840 under Sultan Abdulmecid I. According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey's Banknote Museum, its full name was Kaime-i Nakdiye-i Mutebere, roughly "paper used as money," and the earliest examples behaved more like interest-bearing treasury bills than banknotes. Each was handwritten and sealed by hand, which made forgery so easy that printed kaime followed from 1842.
The Ottoman lira itself dates to the empire's 1844 monetary reform. In 1863 the Imperial Ottoman Bank, a venture backed by British and French capital, received the exclusive privilege of issuing gold-convertible banknotes in Ottoman lands. Kaime and later Ottoman paper survive in collector hands today, and they represent one of the earliest chapters of paper money outside East Asia and Europe's pioneering issuers.
When did the Republic of Turkey issue its first lira banknotes?
The Republic was proclaimed in 1923, but its first banknotes entered circulation on December 5, 1927, according to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. Printed in London by Thomas De La Rue in denominations from 1 to 1,000 lira, they predate the 1928 alphabet reform, so their text is in Ottoman script with French denominations. The Central Bank was founded by Law No. 1715 in June 1930, began operating on October 3, 1931 with the exclusive right to issue banknotes, and Turkey started printing its own notes domestically in 1957.
Why did Turkey print multi-million-lira banknotes?
Because inflation ground away at the lira for roughly three decades. From the 1970s through the 1990s Turkey lived with chronically high inflation, and World Bank data records the consumer-price peak at about 105 percent during the 1994 crisis. Denominations climbed to keep pace, and in 2001 the Central Bank issued the 20,000,000 lira note, the highest denomination in Turkish history, with Ataturk and a dove on the front and the ancient city of Ephesus on the back.
One precision matters here. Turkey never experienced hyperinflation in the strict academic sense. The Hanke-Krus World Hyperinflation Table (Cato Institute) counts an episode only when prices rise more than 50 percent in a single month, and Turkey never crossed that line, so it does not appear in the table. Its story is slower and in some ways stranger: decades of grinding inflation that normalized grocery bills in the millions. For the episodes that did cross the line, see every hyperinflation ranked.
| Era | Period | What collectors look for |
|---|---|---|
| Ottoman kaime | from 1840 | The empire's first paper money, part banknote and part treasury bill, scarce and historic. |
| Imperial Ottoman Bank era | 1863 to World War I | Gold-convertible banknotes from the British-French chartered bank, plus wartime state paper. |
| First Republic lira | from 1927 | London-printed notes in Ottoman script issued before the 1928 alphabet reform. |
| High-inflation lira | 1980s to 2005 | Denominations racing from thousands to the 20,000,000 lira note of 2001. |
| New Turkish lira (YTL) | 2005 to 2008 | The six-zero transition currency, a short and completable series. |
| Turkish lira (current) | 2009 to present | The E9 series, Ataturk on every front, scholars and artists on the backs. |
What happened when Turkey dropped six zeros in 2005?
A redenomination law passed by the Grand National Assembly in January 2004 created the New Turkish lira, or Yeni Turk lirasi. From January 1, 2005, one New Turkish lira replaced 1,000,000 old lira, deleting six zeros at a stroke. The Central Bank withdrew the old-lira notes on January 1, 2006 and their redemption window closed on December 31, 2015, so the multi-million-lira notes now trade purely as collectibles. On January 1, 2009 the word New was retired and the current E9 banknote series restored the plain name Turkish lira.
Is Ataturk on every Turkish banknote?
On every note issued since the early 1950s, yes. The one detour came after Ataturk's death in 1938, when notes bearing President Ismet Inonu's portrait circulated through the 1940s. Ataturk returned with the fifth emission group from 1951 and has anchored every Turkish banknote since. On the current E9 series, per the Central Bank, Ataturk appears on the front of all six denominations, while the backs honor the historian of science Aydin Sayili (5 lira), mathematician Cahit Arf (10), architect Mimar Kemaleddin (20), novelist Fatma Aliye (50), composer Itri (100), and poet Yunus Emre (200).
How do you start collecting Turkey banknotes?
Start with the era that hooks you. The high-inflation notes of the 1980s and 1990s are the natural entry point: dramatic denominations, striking Ataturk portraits, and plenty of crisp Uncirculated survivors because the 2005 redenomination retired them all at once. Learn to read condition with our banknote grading guide, and keep the banknote glossary handy for terms like emission group and watermark.
Planet Banknote does not fix a permanent Turkey inventory, since stock changes with sourcing, so browse the full banknotes by country directory to see what is available now. If runaway denominations are what drew you in, hyperinflation sets collect the world's wildest notes in one place, and graded banknotes offer independently certified examples sealed in tamper-evident holders.
Frequently asked questions
What currency does Turkey use?
Turkey uses the Turkish lira, issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. The current banknote family, the E9 emission group, entered circulation on January 1, 2009 in six denominations from 5 to 200 lira, and every note carries the portrait of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on the front.
What was the Ottoman kaime?
The kaime was the Ottoman Empire's first paper money, introduced in 1840 under Sultan Abdulmecid I. According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey's Banknote Museum, early kaime functioned more like interest-bearing treasury bills than true banknotes, and the first examples were handwritten and sealed by hand. Printed versions followed from 1842 after the handmade notes proved easy to forge.
Why did Turkey drop six zeros from the lira?
Decades of chronic inflation had pushed everyday prices into the millions of lira, so a redenomination law passed by the Grand National Assembly in January 2004 created the New Turkish lira. From January 1, 2005, one New Turkish lira replaced 1,000,000 old lira, removing six zeros. The word New was dropped again on January 1, 2009, when the current banknote series arrived.
Did Turkey ever have hyperinflation?
No, not by the standard academic definition. The Hanke-Krus World Hyperinflation Table (Cato Institute) counts an episode as hyperinflation only when prices rise more than 50 percent in a single month, and Turkey never crossed that line. Instead it endured chronic high inflation for roughly three decades, with consumer inflation peaking around 105 percent in 1994 according to World Bank data, which is why denominations climbed to 20,000,000 lira.
Are old multi-million-lira Turkish notes still worth anything?
They no longer hold monetary value. The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey withdrew the last old-lira banknotes on January 1, 2006, and their redemption period ended on December 31, 2015, so today they trade purely as collectibles. Value depends on condition, series, and demand, and crisp Uncirculated examples of the highest denominations are the pieces collectors seek first.
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