Serbian dinar

Serbian dinar
Cрпски динар / Srpski dinar (Serbian)
100 dinar banknote 1 dinar coin
ISO 4217 code	RSD
Central bank	National Bank of Serbia
Website	www.nbs.rs
User(s)	Serbia
Inflation	6.2%
Source	(2012 est.)
Subunit
1/100	para
Symbol	RSD or РСД (unofficial: din. or дин.)
Plural	The language(s) of this currency belong(s) to the Slavic languages. There is more than one way to construct plural forms.
Coins
Freq. used	1, 2, 5, 10, 20
Banknotes
Freq. used	10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000
Rarely used	5000
Printer	Institute for Manufacturing Banknotes and Coins - Topčider
Website	www.zin.rs/en
Mint	Institute for Manufacturing Banknotes and Coins - Topčider
Website	www.zin.rs/en

The dinar (genitive plural: dinara, Serbian: динар,dinar, динара,dinara, pronounced [dînaːr]) is the currency of Serbia. An earlier dinar was used in Serbia between 1868 and 1918. The earliest use of the dinar dates back to 1214.

The ISO 4217 code for the dinar is RSD, the three-digit identifier is 941, currency symbol is the same (RSD or РСД), while the abbreviation din or дин is still in informal use locally.

History

Medieval dinar

The first mention of a "Serbian dinar" dates back to the reign of Stefan Nemanjić in 1214. Until the fall of Despot Stjepan Tomašević in 1459, most of the Serbian rulers minted silver dinar coins. First Serbian dinars, like many other south-European mints, replicated Venetian grosso, including characters in Latin (the word 'Dux' replaced with the word 'Rex'). For many years it was one of the main export articles of medieval Serbia, considering the relative abundance of silver coming from Serbian mines.

First modern dinar

Following the Ottoman conquest, different foreign currencies were used up to the mid 19th century. The Ottomans operated coin mints in Novo Brdo, Kučajna and Belgrade. The subdivision of the dinar, the para, is named after the Turkish silver coins of the same name (from the Persian پاره pāra, "money, coin").

After the Principality of Serbia was formally established (1817) there were many different foreign coins in circulation. Eventually, Prince Miloš Obrenović decided to introduce some order by establishing exchange rates based on the groat (Serbian грош/groš, French and English piastre, Turkish kuruş) as money of account. In 1819 Miloš published a table rating 43 different foreign coins: 10 gold, 28 silver, and 5 copper. After the last Ottoman garrisons were withdrawn in 1867, steps were taken to establish an independent national monetary system.

Faced with multiple currencies in circulation, Prince Mihailo Obrenović ordered that a Serbian national currency be minted. The first bronze coins were introduced in 1868, followed by silver in 1875 and gold in 1879. The first banknotes were issued in 1876. Between 1873 and 1894, the dinar was pegged at par to the French franc. The Kingdom of Serbia also joined the Latin Monetary Union.

In 1920, the Serbian dinar was replaced at par by the Yugoslav dinar, with the Yugoslav krone also circulating together.

1 Serbian dinar = 0.0147 US dollars.

Second modern dinar

In 1941, the Yugoslav dinar was replaced, at par, by a second Serbian dinar for use in the German occupied Serbia. The dinar was pegged to the German reichsmark at a rate of 250 dinars = 1 reichsmark. This dinar circulated until 1944, when the Yugoslav dinar was reintroduced by the Yugoslav Partisans, replacing the Serbian dinar at a rate of 1 Yugoslav dinar = 20 Serbian dinars.

Third modern dinar

The Serbian dinar replaced the Yugoslav dinar at par in 2003, when Yugoslavia was transformed into the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. Montenegro had already adopted the Deutsche Mark and later the euro when the mark was replaced by it. According to Bloomberg Serbian currency was placed among the forth weakest world currency.

Coins

50 para coin. The para is a subunit of the dinar, no longer in circulation.

First modern dinar

In 1868, bronze coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5 and 10 para. The obverses featured the portrait of Prince Mihailo Obrenović III. Silver coins were introduced in 1875, in denominations of 50 para, 1 and 2 dinara, followed by 5 dinara in 1879. The first gold coins were also issued in 1879, for 20 dinara, with 10 dinara introduced in 1882. The gold coins issued for the coronation of Milan I coronation in 1882 were popularly called milandor (French Milan d'Or). In 1883, cupro-nickel 5, 10 and 20 para coins were introduced, followed by bronze 2 para in 1904.

Second modern dinar

In 1942, zinc coins were introduced in denominations of 50 para, 1 and 2 dinars, with 10 dinar coins following in 1943.

Third modern dinar

In 2000 coins of 50 para, 1,2 and 5 (Yugoslav)dinar were introduced. In 2003, after the currency's name was changed to Serbian dinar, coins of 1,2,5,10 and 20 (Serbian) dinar were added.

The 50 para as well as 1,2 and 5 dinar coins of the Yugoslav dinar ceased to be legal tender on 1 January 2008 and were exchangeable until 1 January 2013.

Coins currently in circulation are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 dinara coins. All coins feature identical inscriptions in Serbian, using the Cyrillic and Latin script.

Depiction of Dinar coins

1	2	5
Building of the National Bank of Serbia	Gračanica monastery	Krušedol monastery
10	20	20	20
Studenica monastery	Temple of Saint Sava	Nikola Tesla	Ivo Andrić *

Banknotes

First modern dinar

In 1876, state notes were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 dinara. These were followed by notes of the Chartered National Bank from 1884, with notes for 10 dinara backed by silver and gold notes for 50 and 100 dinara. Gold notes for 20 dinara and silver notes for 100 dinar were introduced in 1905. During World War I, silver notes for 50 and 5 dinar were introduced in 1914 and 1916, respectively. In 1915, stamps were authorized for circulation as currency in denominations of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 50 para.

Second modern dinar

In May 1941, the Serbian National Bank introduced notes for 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 dinara. The 100 and 1000 dinara notes were overprints, whilst the 10 dinara design was taken from an earlier Yugoslav note. Further notes were introduced in 1942 and 1943 without any new denominations being introduced.

Third modern dinar

In 2003, banknotes of the (re-established) National Bank of Serbia were introduced in denominations of 100, 1000 and 5000 dinara. These were followed by 500 dinara in 2004, 50 dinara in 2005, 10 and 20 dinara in 2006 and 2000 dinara in 2011. Banknotes of similar design, released by the national bank of Yugoslavia between 2000 and 2003 were withdrawn from ciruclation on 1 January 2007.

Denomination	Image		Main colour	Obverse	Reverse	Remark
10 dinara 131 x 62 mm			Ochre-yellow	Vuk Stefanović Karadžić (1787 – 1864), philologist and linguist	Member of the First Prague Slavic Congress, 1848 and vignette of the letters Vuk introduced.	Replaced with a slightly lighter 2006 issue. A revised 2011 issue entered circulation.
20 dinara 135 x 64 mm			Green	Petar II Petrović-Njegoš (1813 – 1851), metropolitan, statesman, philosopher and poet	His figure on the back, instead of the statue from the Mausoleum on Mount Lovćen.	Slightly darker than the National Bank of Serbia issues from 2006 and 2011, respectively.
50 dinara 139 x 66 mm			Violet	Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac (1856 – 1914), composer and music educator	Figure of Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac, a motif of Miroslav Gospels illumination scores.	Redesigned in 2005 and 2011.
100 dinara 143 x 68 mm			Blue	Nikola Tesla (1856 – 1943), inventor	A detail from the Tesla electro-magnetic induction engine.	Redesigned in 2003, 2004 and 2006. The 2012 issue no longer uses the National Bank's logo, instead using the redesigned Greater Coat of Arms of Serbia.
200 dinara 147 x 70 mm			Amber	Nadežda Petrović (1873 – 1915), painter	Silhouette of the Gračanica Monastery.	It was slightly redesigned in 2005, and re-released in 2011.
500 dinara 147 x 70 mm			Green/yellow	Jovan Cvijić (1865 – 1927), geographer	Stylized ethnic motifs.	Slightly redesigned (with the coat of arms of Serbia instead of the Emblem of the National Bank) released on June 5, 2007, and again on December 30, 2011 (with the old coat of arms replaced by the new one).
1000 dinara 151 x 72 mm			Red	Đorđe Vajfert (1850 – 1937), industrialist	An outline of Weifert's beer brewery, hologram image of St. George slaying a dragon; details from the interior of the main building of the National Bank of Serbia.	It was slightly redesigned in 2003, 2006 and 2011.
2000 dinara 155 x 74 mm			Grey	Milutin Milanković (1879 – 1958), mathematician, astronomer and geophysicist	Milanković's figures while at the desk (below: a graphical representation of his calculations of snow boundary movement for the past Quaternary) and from his student days in Vienna (behind: a stylised Sun disk drawing fragment and an illustration of Milanković's work).	First images of the new banknote were made public on December 23, 2011, entered circulation on December 30, 2011.
5000 dinara 159 x 76 mm			Purple	Slobodan Jovanović (1869 – 1958), jurist, historian and politician	An ornamental detail from the building of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts; silhouette of the National Assembly.	It was slightly redesigned in 2003 and 2010.

Current RSD exchange rates
From Google Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From XE.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From OANDA.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From fxtop.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD

See also

• Economy of Serbia
• Serbian perper
• Yugoslav dinar
• Yugoslav krone

References

• Krause, Chester L., and Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501. 
• Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9. 

External links

• Gallery of Serbian banknotes

Pre-WWI dinar

Preceded by: Numerous currencies Reason: resolving monetary chaos Ratio: at par with Latin Monetary Union unit

Currency of Serbia 1868 – 1918

Succeeded by: Yugoslav first dinar Reason: creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes Ratio: at par

WWII dinar

Preceded by: Yugoslav first dinar Reason: establishment of a pro-Germany puppet state Ratio: at par

Currency of World War II Serbia 1941 – 1945

Succeeded by: Yugoslav second dinar Reason: reunification of Yugoslavia as a result of World War II Ratio: 1 Yugoslav dinar = 20 Serbian dinara

Post-Yugoslavia dinar

Preceded by: Yugoslav new dinar Reason: name changed to Serbia and Montenegro (on February 4, 2003) Ratio: at par

Currency of Serbia (excluding Kosovo) July 2, 2003 – Note: Serbia and Montenegro dissolved on June 3, 2006

Succeeded by: Current