The lira (plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. The lira was also the currency of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy between 1807 and 1814.
The term originates from the value of a pound weight (Latin: libra) of high purity silver and as such is a direct cognate of the British pound sterling; in some countries, such as Cyprus and Malta, the words lira and pound were used as equivalents, before the euro was adopted in 2008 in the two countries. "L", sometimes in a double-crossed script form ("₤"), was usually used as the symbol. Until the Second World War, it was subdivided into 100 centesimi (singular: centesimo), which translates to "one hundredth".
Obverse: The copperplate figure of a harvest woman seated on the wheat-sheaves holding a sheaf in her left hand and a sickle in the right; a watermark head of Leonardo da Vinci in the medallion to the left
Reverse: Cantalamessa's statuary group with the personifications of Law, Finance and Economy in the center circle; the circle to the left contains the coat of arms of the House of Savoy sustained by a crowned golden eagle; a watermark head of Leonardo da Vinci to the right
