The dates 1453–2020 on this lira span almost six centuries in the life of a single building. In 1453, after the conquest of Constantinople, Sultan Mehmed II turned the cathedral of Hagia Sophia into a mosque; in 1935 it became a museum, and in July 2020 it regained mosque status. The coin marks exactly this event and names the building by its official title, AYASOFYA-İ KEBİR CAMİİ ŞERİFİ, «Grand Mosque of Hagia Sophia».

The obverse shows Hagia Sophia with the dates and the country name TÜRKİYE CUMHURİYETİ. The reverse follows the everyday lira: crescent and star at the top, 1 TÜRK LİRASI in the centre and the year below, within a ring of Rumi ornament.

The building was raised under Emperor Justinian in 532–537 and served as an Orthodox cathedral for nearly nine centuries. On 10 July 2020 Turkey’s Council of State annulled the museum decision, and on 24 July the first Friday prayers were held in Hagia Sophia. That same year the mint in Istanbul struck the commemorative lira in an edition of 20 million.

The coin is bimetallic, with a copper-nickel centre in a nickel-brass ring. For a set of coins featuring architecture or religious buildings it is one of the most recognisable subjects. Uncirculated condition: never in circulation, no wear.

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