Georgian National and Global Currency

The word “Lari”, which was chosen as the name of the main unit of the Georgian national currency, is an old Georgian word and generally means treasure, property.

On September 27, 2024, at the world's largest international money exhibition MIF Events at the MECC Maastricht Congress Center in Maastricht, Treasurium officially presented the Georgian collectible euro banknote “EURO 8000” in the presence of Georgian and Dutch delegations.

Georgia itself issues collectible coins - “Rugby Gold and Silver Coins”, “Georgian National Postage Stamp”, “Georgian Vine”, “Ilori”, “Gold Memorial Coin” and others.

On December 14, 2023, Georgia received the status of a candidate for membership in the European Union, and the modern official currency of the Eurozone is the euro. Should Georgia join the Eurozone currency after joining the European Union? The answer to this question cannot be a simple yes or no. The issue must be resolved both in light of Georgia’s history, so that the country’s future is not affected, and in the context of the new geopolitical order – the Eastern Partnership. Otherwise, it would be an irreparable mistake.

The silver coin of the 4th-3rd centuries BC – the Colchian Tetri, in addition to being widespread in Georgia, has also been found in Crimea, Kherson, Sochi and Trabzon. That is, Georgian money was in circulation on the territories of modern Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. This story is noteworthy insofar as, considering that in ancient times there were no electronic banking channels for payments, it is easy to imagine how large an area the merchants of that time used the Colchian Tetri for long-distance trade.

There has not yet been any in-depth research into whether the Colchian white gold was an intermediary currency between, for example, Roman and Chinese coins. Also, whether Georgian coins were used as a conversion measure between Byzantine and Indian coins.

In addition, under the Eastern Partnership program, Georgia, which has the status of a candidate for membership in the European Union, is an important intersection of transit routes of global destination. Such transit corridors and programs passing through Georgia will reach nine in number by 2025, namely: Trans-Caspian Corridor, TRACECA, CASCA, CAMCA, CAREC, Lapis Lazuli Corridor, Viking Route, GUAM Free Trade Zone, Southwest Corridor. This number of corridors and programs does not cross any country in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, or Central Asia. Separately, there are pipelines and power line projects passing through Georgia.

Georgia is becoming a gateway to the south of Europe in the new geopolitical order. In order to best fulfill its national mission as the gateway to the historic Silk Road, Georgia must have its own national currency. Just as EU member Denmark has its national currency - the krone, the Czech Republic - the koruna, Bulgaria - the lev, and Romania - the leu.

As a result of the implementation of the European Commission's recommendations (9 reservations), a market economy order will be legalized in Georgia, with independent credit and stock markets, which will be both a condition and an indicator of free trade between Europe and Asia.

Three main circumstances - historical regularity, the need for multimodal transportation and fair capital challenge (London and Tokyo stock exchanges) require a responsible entity in investments and trade.

 

Zurab Maghradze,

Doctor of Business Administration