Georgia’s central bank marks national currency anniversary

The National Bank of Georgia on Monday marked the 28th anniversary for lari, the country’s national currency, by noting its links from the history and its adoption in the modern state in 1995.

Selected as the official currency on October 2, 1995 and following the proclamation of the restoration of Georgia’s independence in 1991, the adoption of lari was facilitated by decisions of the Supreme Council of the then-newly proclaimed Republic of Georgia and the subsequent work of the National Bank.

Its name was inspired by terms used in historical Georgian kingdoms, with lari signifying treasure and property and tetri adopted as the fractional currency based on a historical coin from the Middle Ages.

The NBG’s board authorised ₾ as the currency's symbol, based on the letter ‘L’ of the Georgian alphabet, on July 7, 2014.

The Bank said collector coins would be issued in 2025 to commemorate the currency's 30th anniversary.