# Kuruş > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kuru%C5%9F > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kuru%C5%9F.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru%C5%9F > Source revision: 1346940043 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Subunit of Turkish Lira "Grush" redirects here. For a studio album by μ-Ziq, see [Grush (album)](/source/Grush_(album)). This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (August 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Current Turkish 50 kuruş coin **Kuruş** ([/kəˈruːʃ/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) [*kə-ROOSH*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Pronunciation_respelling_key);[1] Turkish pronunciation: [\[kuˈɾuʃ\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Turkish)), also **gurush**, **ersh**, **gersh**, **grush**, **grosha**, and **grosi**,[2] are all names for currency denominations in and around the territories formerly part of the [Ottoman Empire](/source/Ottoman_Empire). The variation in the name stems from the different languages it is used in ([Arabic](/source/Arabic_language), [Amharic](/source/Amharic_language), [Turkish](/source/Turkish_language), and [Greek](/source/Greek_language)) and the different transcriptions into the [Latin alphabet](/source/Latin_alphabet). In European languages, the kuruş was known as the **[piastre](/source/Piastre)**.[2] Today the kuruş (pl. **kuruşlar**) is a Turkish currency subunit, with one [Turkish lira](/source/Turkish_lira) equal to 100 kuruş as of the [2005 revaluation of the lira](/source/Revaluation_of_the_Turkish_Lira). Until the 1844 subdivision of the former [Ottoman gold lira](/source/Ottoman_lira), the kuruş was the standard unit of currency within the [Ottoman Empire](/source/Ottoman_Empire), and was subdivided into 40 *[para](/source/Para_(currency))* or 120 *[akçe](/source/Ak%C3%A7e)*. One kuruş remained equal to 40 para during the First Turkish lira,[3] said lira lasting from 1923 till its 2005's revaluation. ## Name The [Turkish](/source/Turkish_language) word *kuruş* ([Ottoman Turkish](/source/Ottoman_Turkish_language): قروش, *kurûş*); [Greek](/source/Greek_language): γρόσι, *grosi*; plural γρόσια, *grosia*) is derived from the [French](/source/French_language) *[gros](/source/Gros_(coinage))* ("heavy"), which itself is derived from the [Latin](/source/Latin_language) *grossus* ("thick").[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] It is cognate with the [German](/source/German_language) *[Groschen](/source/Groschen)*, [Polish](/source/Polish_language) *grosz* and [Hungarian](/source/Hungarian_language) *garas*. ## History The Ottoman *kuruş* was introduced in 1688. It was initially a large [silver](/source/Silver) piece (similar to the European [thalers](/source/Thaler) issued by the Ottomans), approximately equal to the [French écu](/source/French_%C3%A9cu), or, from other sources, to the [Spanish dollar](/source/Spanish_dollar). It was worth 40 *[para](/source/Para_(currency))*. In 1844, following sustained [debasement](/source/Debasement), the [gold](/source/Gold) *[lira](/source/Turkish_lira)* was introduced, worth 100 kuruş. During the late 18th to early 19th centuries it was further reduced to a [billon](/source/Billon_(alloy)) coin weighing less than 3 grams. As the Ottoman Empire broke up, several successor states retained the kuruş as a denomination. These included [Egypt](/source/Egypt), [Saudi Arabia](/source/Saudi_Arabia), [Syria](/source/Syria), [Lebanon](/source/Lebanon) and [Turkey](/source/Turkey) itself. Others, including [Jordan](/source/Jordan) and [Sudan](/source/Sudan), adopted the kuruş as a denomination when they established their own currencies. At the beginning of the 19th century, silver coins were in circulation for 1 akçe, 1, 5, 10 and 20 para, 1, 2 and 2+1⁄2 kuruş, together with gold coins denominated in *zeri mahbub* (3,5 kurush) and *[altin](/source/Sultani_(coin))*. As the silver coins were debased, other denominations appeared: 30 para, 1+1⁄2, 3, 5 and 6 kuruş. The final coinage issued before the currency reform consisted of billon 1, 10 and 20 para, and silver 1+1⁄2, 3 and 6 kuruş. In 1844, the Turkish gold lira was introduced as the new standard denomination. It was divided into 100 silver kuruş and the kuruş continued to circulate until the 1970s. Kuruş eventually became obsolete due to the [chronic inflation](/source/Chronic_inflation) in Turkey in the late 1970s. A currency reform on 1 January 2005 provided its return as 1⁄100 of the new lira. ## See also - [Money portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Money) - [Groschen](/source/Groschen) - [Gros (coinage)](/source/Gros_(coinage)) - [Groat (coin)](/source/Groat_(coin)) - [Venetian grosso](/source/Venetian_grosso) - [Ottoman lira](/source/Ottoman_lira) - [Turkish lira](/source/Turkish_lira) - [Egyptian pound](/source/Egyptian_pound) - [Jordanian dinar](/source/Jordanian_dinar) - [Palestine pound](/source/Palestine_pound) - [Saudi riyal](/source/Saudi_riyal) - [Sudanese pound](/source/Sudanese_pound) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** "kurus". *The Chambers Dictionary* (9th ed.). Chambers. 2003. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-550-10105-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-550-10105-5). 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Handbook_of_Cyprus_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Handbook_of_Cyprus_2-1) [*A Handbook of Cyprus*, p. 111](https://books.google.com/books?id=2oTVAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA111) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["10 Para, Turkey"](https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces6393.html). *en.numista.com*. Retrieved 30 August 2025. ## Bibliography - Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (1991). *[Standard Catalog of World Coins](/source/Standard_Catalog_of_World_Coins): 1801–1991* (18th ed.). Krause Publications. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0873411501](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0873411501). ## External links - [http://www.osmanliparalari.com](http://www.osmanliparalari.com) Everything about Ottoman coins (in Turkish) - [Ottoman Empire coins](http://www.ottomancoins.com/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kuruş](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru%C5%9F) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru%C5%9F?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.