From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Honduran lempira lempira hondureño (Spanish)
ISO 4217 Code	HNL
User(s)	Honduras
Inflation	5.7%
Source	The World Factbook, 2006 est.
Subunit
1/100	centavo
Symbol	L
Coins	10, 20, 50 centavos
Banknotes	L1, L2, L5, L10, L20, L50, L100, L500
Central bank	Banco Central de Honduras
Website	www.bch.hn

The lempira (ISO 4217 code: HNL) is the currency of Honduras. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. The lempira was named after the 16th-century cacique Lempira, a ruler of the indigenous Lenca people, who is renowned in Honduran folklore for leading the (ultimately unsuccessful) local native resistance against the Spanish conquistador forces. He is a national hero, and is honoured on both the 1 lempira note and on the 20 and 50 centavos coins.

The lempira was introduced in 1931, replacing the peso at par. In the late 1980s, the exchange rate was two lempiras to the U.S. dollar (the 20 centavos coin is called a daime as they used to be worth the same as a U.S. dime). As of August 2006, the lempira was quoted at 18.8932 HNL to 1 USD. U.S. dollars are widely accepted as currency, but almost certainly the buyer will receive lempiras in change.^{[citation needed]}

In 1931, coins were introduced in denominations of 5, 20 and 50 centavos and 1 lempira. 1, 2 and 10 centavos coins were added in 1935, 1939 and 1932 respectively. The silver 1 lempira coins ceased production in 1937, with the other silver coins (20 and 50 centavos) replaced by cupro-nickel in 1967.

Coins currently in circulation are [1]

• 1 centavo - discontinued in 1985
• 2 centavos - discontinued in 1990
• 5 centavos - discontinued in 1998
• 10 centavos
• 20 centavos
• 50 centavos

The Bank of Honduras and the Banco Atlantida issued the first lempira banknotes in 1932. They were in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 lempiras. The Central Bank of Honduras took over production of paper money in 1950, introducing 100 lempiras notes in 1951. In 1975, 100 lemprias notes were added, followed by 500 lempiras in 1995.

Banknotes in circulation are [2]

Image	Value	Color	Dimensions	Obverse
	L1	Red	156 × 67 mm	Lempira
	L2	Purple		Marco Aurelio Soto
	L5	Green		Francisco Morazán
	L10	Brown		Jose Trinidad Cabañas
	L20	Green		Dionisio de Herrera
	L50	Cyan		Juan Manuel Galvez
	L100	Orange		Jose Cecilio del Valle
	L500	Violet		Ramon Rosa

Use Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
Use XE.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
Use OANDA.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD

v • d • e Currencies of the Americas
OECS	East Caribbean dollar
Northern	Canadian dollar · Danish krone · Euro · U.S. dollar ·
Mexico	Mexican peso
Central	Belize dollar · Costa Rican colón · Guatemalan quetzal · Honduran lempira  · Nicaraguan córdoba · Panamanian balboa · U.S. dollar
Caribbean	Aruban florin · Bahamian dollar · Barbadian dollar · Bermuda dollar · Cayman Islands dollar · Cuban convertible peso · Cuban peso · Dominican peso · Euro · Haitian gourde · Jamaican dollar · Netherlands Antillean gulden · Trinidad and Tobago dollar · U.S. dollar
Guianas	Euro · Guyanese dollar · Surinamese dollar ·
Andes	Argentine peso · Bolivian boliviano · Chilean peso · Colombian peso · Peruvian nuevo sol · U.S. dollar · Venezuelan bolívar
South	Brazilian real · British pound · Falkland Islands pound · Paraguayan guaraní · Uruguayan peso