# Honduran lempira

Canonical: https://web4.xpay.bi/en/wiki/wp-en-1234312/

Language: en

Published: 2026-10-30T18:05:58.875Z

Updated: 2026-10-30T18:05:58.875Z

The lempira (Spanish pronunciation: \[lemˈpiɾa\], sign: L; code: HNL) is the currency of Honduras. It is subdivided into 100 centavos.

## Key facts

## Overview

The lempira (Spanish pronunciation: \[lemˈpiɾa\], sign: L; code: HNL) is the currency of Honduras. It is subdivided into 100 centavos.

## Etymology

The lempira was named after the 16th-century cacique Lempira, a ruler of the indigenous Lenca people, who is renowned in Honduran folklore for leading the local native resistance against the  Spanish conquistador forces. He is a national hero, honored on both the 1 lempira note and 20 and 50 centavos coins.

## History

The lempira was introduced in 1931, replacing the peso at par. Until the March 1990 devaluation, the official exchange rate was two lempiras to the United States dollar (the 20-centavos coin is called a daime as it was worth the same as a U.S. dime). As of July, 2026, the lempira was quoted at 26.8 HNL to US$1.

## Coins

In 1931, coins were introduced in denominations of 5, 20 & 50 centavos, and 1 lempira. One, 2 and 10 centavos coins were added in 1935, 1939 and 1932, respectively. The silver 1 lempira coins ceased production in 1937, with the other silver coins (20 & 50 centavos) replaced by cupro-nickel in 1967. The 1 and 2 centavos coins were last minted in 1998 and 1974, respectively. Coins of the following denominations are currently  legal tender. However as of 2024 coins are only very rarely used for payments. In practice only banknotes are used.

1 centavo 2 centavos 5 centavos 10 centavos 20 centavos 50 centavos

## Banknotes

The Bank of Honduras and the Banco Atlantida issued the first lempira banknotes in 1932. They were in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 lempiras. The Central Bank of Honduras took over production of paper money in 1950, introducing 50 and 100 lempiras notes in 1950, followed by the 500-lempiras note in 1995. In January, 2010, a new 20-lempira note was introduced to market made by a polymer base, 60 million notes were issued. In celebration of the bicentennial anniversary of Honduras's independence, a new 200 lempira bill was issued. It features 2  scarlet macaws, the national bird of Honduras. Banknotes in circulation are

## See also

Economy of Honduras  Honduras portal

## External links

The banknotes of Honduras (in English and German)

## Sources

- Honduran lempira · Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=1234312

Source: Wikipedia contributors — https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=1234312&oldid=1367700367

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Adaptation notice: Reformatted for XPay; the source may be abridged, restructured or translated. Consult the cited revision for the original.