Debasement the intrinsic value of the coinage and so more coins can be made with the same quantity of precious metal. If done too frequently, debasement may lead to a new coin being adopted as a standard currency, as when the Ottoman Akçe was replaced by the kuruş (1 kuru = 120 akçe), with the para (1/40 kuruş) as a subunit. The kuruş in turn later became a subdivision of the lira. Debasement Debasement is the practice of lowering the value of currency. It is particularly used in connection with commodity money such as gold or silver coins. A coin is
Currency of Uruguay fine gold), and equal to 10 silver pesos, each of 25·48 g, 0·917 fine (23·365 g fine silver), giving a silver:gold ratio of 15:1. The peso was revalued to 100 centésimos, with 1 new centésimo equal to 10 old centésimos de real, the new currency being known as "Sistema centesimal" (as opposed to the old "Sistema real"). The National Currency Decree declared that until a national coinage could be minted, foreign silver and gold coins should continue to circulate at their then current values (adjusted to conform to this decree), A number of foreign coins (and their multiples and fractions)