Istanbul, Apr 14 (IANS): The Turkish State Mint has reduced the size of the coins of lira, the Turkish currency, to deal with the rising minting costs, local media reported.

The one-lira and half-lira coins are now half millimetre thinner and have a different composition of copper, zinc and nickel, the NTV reported on Thursday.

The weight of the one-lira coin has been reduced to 6.6 from 8.2 grams, while the half-lira coin to 5.5 from 6.8 grams, the report added.

Such changes, the first in 14 years, have saved 30 per cent in the cost of coin production, according to media reports. It is reported that the cost of making the one-lira coin was about 3.48 liras before the changes, Xinhua news agency reported.

The lira, which has lost more than 70 per cent of its value against the US Dollar since the beginning of 2022, declined to new record lows against the greenback since the start of March. One dollar stood at 19.32 liras late Thursday.