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Qirsh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Qirsh, Gersh and Kuruş are all names for currency denominations in and around the territories formerly part of the Ottoman Empire. The variation in the name stems from the different languages it is used in (Arabic, Ethiopian and Turkish) and the different transcriptions into the Latin alphabet. The name originally comes from the Italian grosso, as in denaro grosso, a silver coin worth twelve denari.
The original qirsh was a large, 17th century silver piece, similar to the European thalers, issued by the Ottomans. It was worth 40 para. In 1844, following sustained debasement, the gold lira was introduced, worth 100 qirsh.
As the Ottoman Empire broke up, several successor states retained the qirsh as a denomination. These included Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey itself. Others, including Jordan and Sudan, adopted the qirsh as a denomination when they established their own currencies.