What is "larin"

Larin (plural: lari) is the name of a class of objects serving as coins in areas around the Arabian Sea. The name is derived from Lar, a Persian town that according to tradition would have been the first to produce lari. A larin was a piece of silver wire of about 10 centimeters long, usually folded in two equal parts and shaped like a C, though there are also lari shaped like a J, an I or an S. Lari were stamped with an Arabic or Persian text, usually the name of the local ruler.

The Larin, also known as "Koku Ridi" (Silver Hook) was in use in the Kandyan Kingdom from 17th to early part of the 19th century in Sri Lanka and were made by private parties, five of which went to a piece-of-eight, or a Spanish Dollar. These coins with a shape like a fish-hook, bear no legend, or at best poor imitations of Arabic letters; they are usually somewhat thick and short, frequently shows one or more cuts at the bend, apparently made to test the purity of the metal.During the Portuguese period larins enjoyed widespread use in Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

The silver larin coinage, which originated in the Persian Guff, was used extensively from that region around the coast of the Indian Ocean as far as Lanka during the period 16th and 17th centuries. Larins used in Lanka were bent into a "fish-hook" shape whereas those of other regions were straight. Larins actually produced in Lanka bore either imitation Persian inscriptions or meaningless designs: though specimens bearing western inscriptions are reported to have also been produced. Larins of more northerly origin that reached Lanka in the course of trade tended to be bent into "fish-hook" shape when they later subserved the currency needs of the island.

A 17th century larin would weigh about 4.75 grams. It was traditionally tariffed at 5.5 lari to the Spanish colonial piece of eight.

Lari is the root of coin denominations used in Georgia and the Maldives.

Larin may refer to:

• Larin (name)
• Larin (currency) used around the Arabian Sea
• Larin, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province, Iran
• Larin izbor, a Croatian telenovela

Larin or Larín is a given name and a surname. As a surname, in Slavic countries it is used only for men, while the feminine counterpart is Larina. It may refer to

• Larin Paraske (1833–1904), Izhorian oral poet

• Larin-Kyösti, pseudonym of the Finnish poet Karl Gustaf Larson (1873–1948)

• Alexander Larín (born 1992), Salvadoran association football player
• Anna Larina (1914–1996), second wife of the Bolshevik leader Nikolai Bukharin
• Cyle Larin (born 1995), Canadian association football player
• Dmitry Larin (born 1973), Russian association football manager
• Ivan Larin (born 1924), Russian football player and coach
• Kim McLarin, African-American novelist
• Kseniya Larina (born 1985), Russian singer
• Liz Larin, Detroit-based singer-songwriter
• Rafael Menjívar Larín (1935–2000), Salvadoran economist and politician
• Sergei Larin (born 1986), Kazakhstani football manager and former player
• Sergei Eduardovich Larin (born 1993), Russian association football player
• Sergej Larin (1956–2008), Soviet operatic tenor
• Sergejus Larinas, Latvian-Russian opera singer
• Valeria Larina (1926–2008), Russian realist painter
• Vassa Larin (born 1970), American author
• Vladimir Larin (1948–1995), Russian football player
• Yuri Larin (1882–1932), Soviet economist and politician