The lira (plural: ''lire'') was the currency of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until its annexation by
Napoleonic France
The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...
in 1807. After that year, it unofficially remained in circulation thanks to its silver value until the restoration of Tuscan independence in 1814. It was finally abolished in 1826.
It was subdivided into 20 '' soldi'', each of 3 ''quattrini'' or 12 ''denari'' (singular: ''soldo'', ''quattrino'', ''denaro''). Other denominations included the ''
crazia
The crazia, plural (from the german: Kreuzer),paolo'' worth q.40 or lira; the ''testone'' worth 3 paoli; and the crown-sized ''francescone'' worth 10 paoli or lire.
In 1803 the Tuscan lira was equivalent to 0.84
French franc
The franc (, ; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It w ...
s, 0.84
Italian lira
The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually ...
, or 3.78 grams of fine
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
. In 1826 it was replaced by the
Tuscan fiorino
The Tuscan fiorino (plural: ''fiorini'') was the currency of Tuscany between 1826 and 1859. It was subdivided into 100 quattrini ( singular: ''quattrino''), a local currency made by four denari (from the Latin: ''quater denarii''). There was an add ...
worth 100 quattrini or lira.
Coins
In the late 18th century, copper coins circulated in denominations of q.1, q.2, and s.1, together with billon q.10 and silver , 1, 2, 5 and 10 paoli. In the early 19th century, copper s. and s.2 were added, together with silver 1lira and 10lire.
The 10-lira coin was known as dena and the 5-lira coin was known as meza-dena ("half-dena").