The rial () or piastre was the currency of
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
until 1891. It was subdivided into 16 (), each of 13 (). The was further subdivided into 6 (). The () was worth 2 . The denomination was often either not given on coins or only indicated by a numeral. Some rial denominated coins have a numeral over the Arabic letter r, ر.
History
The rial was issued by the
Beys of Tunis. Although known as the piastre by Europeans, it was not equal to the
Turkish kuruş, also known as the piastre. From 1855, the rial was on a bimetallic standard of 1 rial = 0.17716 grams pure gold or 2.7873 grams pure silver. In 1887, the gold content of the 25 rial coin was slightly reduced to make it equivalent to 15
French franc
The franc (; , ; currency sign, 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 amoun ...
s. In 1891, this conversion rate (more conveniently expressed as 1 rial = 60 centimes) was used when the
Tunisian franc
The franc (French language, French, ) was the currency of Tunisia between 1891 and 1958. It was divided into 100 centimes (صنتيم) and was equivalent to the French franc.
History
The franc replaced the Tunisian rial, rial in 1891 at the rate ...
replaced the rial.
Coins
In the early 19th century, copper 1 fals coins were issued, together with
billon 1 nasri, 1, 2, 4 and 8 kharub, 1 and 2 rial, and gold ''sultani''. A new coinage was introduced in 1847, consisting of copper 1 fals, 1 nasri, and 1 kharub and silver 2 and 5 rial denominations. Between 1856 and 1858, copper coins for 3, 6 and 13 nasri were issued along with silver 2, 4 and 8 kharub, 1, 3 and 4 rial, and gold 10, 20, 25, 40, 50, 80 and 100 rial. The gold coins were initially struck in pure gold, later reduced to .900 fineness, with the 20, 40 and 80 rial denominations short-lived. The 6 and 13 nasri coins were later overstamped with the Arabic numerals "1" and "2" ("١" and "٢") to indicate that they were to circulate as 1 and 2 kharub coins, an increase in value of ½ nasri for the 6 nasri coin. In 1864, a new copper coinage was introduced in denominations of , , 1, 2, 4, 8 kharub. Silver 8 kharub and gold 5 rial were also introduced. In 1887, the slightly smaller 25 rial coins were introduced (see above), with the additional inscription "15 F" to indicate the equivalence to the French franc.
See also
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Tunisian dinar
The dinar (, ISO 4217 code: TND) is the national currency of Tunisia. It is subdivided into 1000 milim or millimes (). The abbreviation ''DT'' is often used in Tunisia, although writing "dinar" after the amount is also acceptable (TND is less col ...
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Carthaginian coinage
Carthaginian or Punic coins were produced from the late fifth century BC through 146 BC by ancient Carthage, a Phoenician city-state located near present-day Tunis, Tunisia. A wide range of coinage was issued in gold, electrum, silver, billon, and ...
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Tunisian franc
The franc (French language, French, ) was the currency of Tunisia between 1891 and 1958. It was divided into 100 centimes (صنتيم) and was equivalent to the French franc.
History
The franc replaced the Tunisian rial, rial in 1891 at the rate ...
References
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Modern obsolete currencies
Currencies of Africa
1891 disestablishments
Economic history of Tunisia
Coins of the Ottoman Empire
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