The lempira was named after the 16th-century caciqueLempira, a ruler of the indigenousLenca people, who is renowned in Honduran folklore for leading the (ultimately unsuccessful) local native resistance against the Spanishconquistador forces. He is a national hero, and is honoured on both the 1 lempira note and the 20 and 50 centavos coins.
The lempira was introduced in 1931, replacing the peso at par. In the late 1980s, the exchange rate was two lempiras to the U.S. dollar (the 20 centavos coin is called a daime as it was worth the same as a U.S. dime). As of June 11, 2015, the lempira was quoted at 21.93 HNL to 1 USD.
In 1931, coins were introduced in denominations of 5, 20 & 50 centavos & 1 lempira. 1, 2 & 10 centavos coins were added in 1935, 1939 & 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 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 lempiras notes in 1951. In 1975, 100 lempiras notes were added, followed by 500 lempiras in 1995.
In January, 2010, a new 20 Lempira note was introduced to market made by a polymer base, 60 million notes were issued.[1]