2 1/2 Lira Red reverse

Thomas De La Rue had printed Turkish banknotes since the late Ottoman period, and Turkey continued to rely on the London firm well into the republic's mid-century issues. This particular note takes its collector name from the red ink applied to the reverse — a color change introduced to distinguish it from the earlier green-reverse printing of the same denomination, both circulating under the same Pick series in close succession.

The 2½ Lira denomination itself was already an awkward anachronism by the late 1950s, a fraction-unit holdover that would soon become impractical as Turkish inflation accelerated through the following decade.