Lira ⇄ Euro converter

What it's for

To see how much old Lira prices or amounts are worth in Euro (and vice versa). The rate has been fixed by law since 2002: 1 € = 1936.27 lire.

Fun fact

A coffee that cost 1,000 lire in 2000 is about €0.52. Handy for historical comparisons and nostalgia.

The rate is fixed, the value is not

1,936.27 is not a market rate: it is a number set on 31 December 1998 and valid forever, because the lira is not a foreign currency but an old form of the euro. No fluctuation touches it, which is why it can be used to convert a price from 1975 just as well as one from 2001.

But converting is not comparing. A thousand-lira coffee becomes 0.52 euro, and anyone reading that number concludes coffee used to cost half as much: it did not, because prices have risen since. To know what it really cost you need two steps, first the conversion and then inflation.

The number everyone has in their head

During the changeover almost everybody adopted a rule of thumb: divide by two thousand. It is an approximation wrong by a little over 3%, and there is nothing wrong with it for a quick idea. On large sums, though, the difference shows: on a hundred million lire, «divide by two thousand» gives fifty thousand euro against the correct 51,645, that is more than 1,600 euro of gap.

Which is why a conversion done in your head is fine for a coffee and not for an inheritance, an old contract or a property.

Where lira amounts still turn up today

In old notarial deeds and land registry records, where the declared values remain those of the time. In life policies taken out before 2002, in forgotten savings books, in historical tax demands, in building accounts from twenty years ago. And at home, on prices printed on books and on boxes left in the cellar.

Lira coins and notes, on the other hand, can no longer be exchanged: the deadline for conversion at the Bank of Italy has closed, and today they are worth only what a collector will pay, which for the vast majority of pieces is close to nothing.

A reminder for conversions

The official changeover rule was to convert and then round to the cent, never the other way round, and never to use an approximate inverse rate: you always divide by 1,936.27, you do not multiply by 0.000516. On a single amount the difference is invisible; on a sum of many items, the roundings pile up and the total no longer matches.

Nearby tools

For the second step, the one that says what yesterday's money is worth today, there is Inflation calculator. To grow a sum over time Compound interest, and for everyday sums Percentage calculator.