The lari (, ; ISO 4217: GEL, sign: ₾) is the currency of Georgia. It is divided into 100 tetri (). The name lari is an old Georgian word denoting a hoard, property, while tetri is an old Georgian monetary term (meaning 'white') used in ancient Colchis from the 6th century BC. Earlier Georgian currencies include the maneti (), abazi (), and kuponi ().
Kuponi
Georgia replaced the Soviet ruble on 5 April 1993, with the kuponi () at par. This currency consisted only of banknotes, had no subdivisions and suffered from hyperinflation. Notes were issued in denominations between 1 and 1 million kuponi, including the somewhat unusual 3,000, 30,000 and 150,000 kuponi.
Lari On 2 October 1995, the government of Eduard Shevardnadze replaced the provisional coupon currency with the lari, at a rate of one million to one. It has remained fairly stable since then.
Lari sign
The NBG announced the lari sign competition in December 2013. The temporary commission consisted of representatives of NBG, the Budget and Finance Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, the State Council of Heraldry, the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia and the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia.
On 8 July 2014, Giorgi Kadagidze, Governor of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG), unveiled the winning proposal for the sign of the national currency to the public. The author of the winning sign was professional artist-ceramist, Malkhaz Shvelidze.
In choosing the winning sign, the commission gave priority to the samples based on the Georgian Mkhedruli character and made a point of the following criteria: conception, design, accordance with Georgian alphabet, existence of elements marking the currency, ease of construction, and observance of requests and recommendations determined by competition rules.
The lari sign is based on an arched letter ლ (Lasi) of the Georgian script. It is common international practice for a currency sign to consist of a letter, crossed by one or two parallel lines. Two parallel lines crossing the letter Lasi are the basic components of the lari sign. The so-called “leg” of the letter, represented by a horizontal line, is a necessary attribute of the sign, adding monumental stability to the upper dynamic arc. The form of the letter is transformed in order to simplify its perception and implementation as a lari sign.
On 18 July 2014, Giorgi Melashvili, executive director of the National Bank of Georgia, sent a request letter to the Unicode Consortium to register the symbol in the Currency Symbols block of the Unicode Standard as ₾ U+20BE GEORGIAN LARI SIGN
On 17 June 2015, the Unicode Consortium released Unicode V8.0, which includes the lari sign as
Coins Coins are issued in denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 50 tetri, as well as 1 and 2 lari.
The National Bank of Georgia announced on 5 October 2018 that it would discontinue circulation of 1 and 2 tetri coins as of 1 January 2021, and that these coins would lose their legal tender status. 1 and 2 tetri coins could be exchanged at the National Bank of Georgia and commercial banks in Georgia within one year from 1 January 2021, and can only be exchanged at the National Bank of Georgia from 1 January 2022. According to the new regulations on cash payments introduced by the National Bank of Georgia on 1 January 2019, 1 and 2 tetri are rounded to 0, and 3, 4, 6 and 7 tetri are rounded to 5.
The National Bank of Georgia announced on 12 November 2015 that, effective 1 January 2018, the old 50 tetri coin, issued since 1995, would be withdrawn from circulation and the coins would lose their legal tender status. The old 50 tetri coin were exchangeable at the National Bank of Georgia and commercial banks of Georgia within one year from 1 January 2018, and from 1 January 2019 only at the National Bank of Georgia.
Image Value Technical parameters Description Issuedfrom Withdrawn Obverse Reverse Diameter(mm) Mass(g) Composition Edge Obverse Reverse First series (1993) 1 tetri 15.00 1.38 Stainlesssteel Smooth Vine tendril; value Borjgali over a tree of life;year of issue; lettering:;Republic of Georgia 1996 2021 2 tetri 17.50 1.90 Peacock; value 5 tetri 20.00 2.50 Golden lion fromAlazani valley; value Current 10 tetri 22.00 3.00 Saint Mammes ridinga lion from GelatiMonastery; value 20 tetri 25.00 5.00 Stag by NikoPirosmani; value 50 tetri 19.00 2.50 Brass Griffin from SamtavisiCathedral; value 2018 Second series (2006) 50 tetri 24.00 6.52 Cupronickel Reededlettering: Value Coat of arms; sun beams;year of issue; lettering: 2006 Current ₾1 26.20 7.85 Half-milled; value Coat of arms;year of issue; lettering: ₾2 27.00 8.00 Outer:Cupronickel Sun rays; value Inner:Cu-Al-Ni
Banknotes Current series Between November 2016 and October 2019 the National Bank of Georgia released five banknotes (in denominations of ₾5, ₾10, ₾20, ₾50, and ₾100), composing a new complete set. The 2016–2019 series lari notes were produced in collaboration with Oberthur Technologies, Giesecke+Devrient and De La Rue.
Upgraded series (2016–2019) Image Value Dimensions(mm) Maincolour Description Issuedfrom Firstissued Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse ₾5 122 × 62 Brown Ivane Javakhishvili;Tbilisi State University Threshing & Fishermanin a Red Shirt 2017 1 Sep 2017 ₾10 127 × 64 Blue Akaki Tsereteli;Tsereteli's poem Spring Imereti - My Mother 2019 1 Oct 2019 ₾20 132 × 66 Red Ilia Chavchavadze; Iveria &Sakartvelos Moambenewspaper Vakhtang Gorgasali statue;Panorama and mapof Tbilisi 2016 1 Feb 2016 ₾50 137 × 68 Green Queen Tamar;Vardzia monastery Sagittarius miniature;12th-century manuscript ₾100 142 × 70 Purple Shota Rustaveli; TheKnight in the Panther's Skin Georgian National OperaTheater; Tavisupleba score 1 Nov 2016
Earlier issues The National Bank of Georgia announced that banknotes of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 lari issued between 1995 and 1999 will no longer be legal tender on 1 January 2022. These currencies can only be exchanged at the National Bank of Georgia from 1 January 2022.
Image Value Dimensions(mm) Maincolour Description Issuedfrom FirstissuedWithdrawn Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse ₾1 115 × 61 Teal Niko Pirosmanashvili Tbilisi panorama;Stag by Pirosmani 2002–2007 5 Aug 20021 January 2022 ₾2 Peach Zacharia Paliashvili;Abesalom da Eteri National Opera Theater 2002 ₾5 Brown Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University 2002–2013 ₾10 125 × 63 Blue Akaki Tsereteli;Swallow; branches Imereti - My Mother ₾20 131 × 65 Maroon Ilia Chavchavadze;Iveria & SakartvelosMoambe newspaper Vakhtang Gorgasali statue;Panorama and mapof Tbilisi ₾50 135 × 66 Olive Queen Tamar;Griffin Sagittarius miniature;12th-century manuscript 2004–2013 29 Nov 2004 ₾100 140 × 67 Green Shota Rustaveli;Angels with cross Daniel in the den of lionsfrom Martvili monastery 2004–2014 ₾200 146 × 72 Yellow Kakutsa Cholokashvili;Relief images Sokhumi;iconostasis from Tsebelda 2006 15 Apr 2007Current ₾500 143 × 66 Bluegreen David IV Early Georgian inscriptions;cross 1995 Unissued
See also Economy of Georgia (country) Larization
References
External links
Georgian money, National Bank of Georgia Banknotes of Georgia: Georgian Lari Catalog
The banknotes of Georgia