Kurus
A Turkish currency subunit.
1 Turkish Lira = 100 Kurus.
1 Kurus was also subdivided into 40 Para.
The Kurus (or Piastre) was the standard unit of currency in the Ottoman Empire. Originally a large silver coin, in the mid 1800s its value had depreciated to the point where it circulated as both a large copper coin (as 40 Para) and a very small silver one as well. It then became a subunit of the Turkish Gold Lira.
The Kurus eventually became obsolete due to chronic inflation in Turkey in the late 1900s. A currency reform due in January 2005 will herald its return as the New Kurus, being a subunit of the New Turkish Lira.
