Serbian dinar

Dinar

динар (Serbian)
din. 2,000 banknote din. 20 coin
ISO 4217
Code	RSD (numeric: 941)
Subunit	0.01
Unit
Plural	динари / dinari ("dinars")
Symbol	DIN / дин‎
Denominations
Subunit
1⁄100	пара / para (defunct)
Banknotes
Freq. used	din. 10, din. 20, din. 50, din. 100, din. 200, din. 500, din. 1,000, din. 2,000
Rarely used	din. 5,000
Coins
Freq. used	din. 1, din. 2, din. 5
Rarely used	din. 10, din. 20
Demographics
Replaced	Yugoslav dinar
User(s)	Serbia
Issuance
Central bank	National Bank of Serbia
Website	www.nbs.rs
Printer	Institute for Manufacturing Banknotes and Coins - Topčider, Belgrade
Website	zin.rs?lang=en
Mint	Institute for Manufacturing Banknotes and Coins - Topčider, Belgrade
Website	zin.rs?lang=en
Valuation
Inflation	8.0% (2023)
Source	NBS

The dinar (Serbian: динар, pronounced [dînaːr]; paucal: dinara / динара; abbreviation: DIN (Latin) and дин (Cyrillic); code: RSD) is the currency of Serbia. The dinar was first used in Serbia in medieval times, its earliest use dating back to 1214. The dinar was reintroduced as the official Serbian currency by Prince Mihailo in the 1868. One dinar was formerly subdivided into 100 para. As of 24 August 2024, 1 US dollar worth 104.57 dinars.

History

Medieval Serbian dinar

Main article: Medieval Serbian coinage

Dinar of King Stefan Dragutin

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. The first Serbian dinars, like many other south-European coins, replicated Venetian grosso, including characters in Latin (the word 'Dux' replaced with the word 'Rex'). It was one of the main export articles of medieval Serbia for many years, considering the relative abundance of silver coming from Serbian mines. Venetians were wary of this, and Dante Alighieri went so far as to put the Serbian king of his time, Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia, in Hell as a forger (along with his Portuguese and Norwegian counterparts):

E quel di Portogallo e di Norvegia lì si conosceranno, e quel di Rascia che male ha visto il conio di Vinegia.

First modern Serbian dinar (1868–1920)

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 groš, French and English piastre, Turkish kuruş, قروش) as money of account. In 1819 Prince Miloš Obrenović published a table rating 43 different foreign coins: 10 gold, 28 silver, and 5 copper.

After the last Ottoman garrisons were withdrawn in 1867, Serbia was faced with multiple currencies in circulation. Thus, the prince Mihailo Obrenović ordered a 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 and adhered to a bimetallic standard up until 1914. Attempts to put the Serbian dinar solely onto the gold standard were hampered by widening budget deficits, significant government foreign debt and poor gold reserves.

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

Obverse and reverse of paper money (5 dinar) from the Kingdom of Serbia from World War I (1917), Museum in Smederevo, featuring Miloš Obilić

Coins

In 1868, bronze coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, and 10 paras. The obverses featured the portrait of Prince Mihailo Obrenović III. Silver coins were introduced in 1875, in denominations of 50 paras, 1 and 2 dinars, followed by 5 dinars in 1879. The first gold coins were also issued in 1879, for 20 dinars, with 10 dinars 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 coins in 1904.

Banknotes

In 1876, state notes were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 dinars. The Chartered National Bank followed these notes from 1884, with notes for 10 dinars backed by silver and gold notes for 50 and 100 dinars. Gold notes for 20 dinars and silver notes for 100 dinars were introduced in 1905. However, gold-backed notes were not received well by the public. Lack of public faith in the Serbian dinar, bartering and immediate exchange for gold coins meant that the notes fell out of circulation. Silver-backed notes were however well received and made up 95% of total note circulation. During the Balkan Wars and on the eve of World War I, bank note conversions to gold and silver were temporarily suspended. During World War I, silver notes for 50 and 5 dinars 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 paras.

Second modern Serbian dinar (1941–1944)

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 rate of 1 Yugoslav dinar = 20 Serbian dinars.

Coins

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

Banknotes

In May 1941, the Serbian National Bank introduced notes for 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 dinars. The 100 and 1,000 dinar notes were overprints, whilst the 10 dinar design was taken from an earlier Yugoslav note. Other notes were introduced in 1942 and 1943 without any new denominations being introduced.

Third modern Serbian dinar (2003–present)

The Serbian dinar replaced the Yugoslav dinar in 2003 when the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was transformed into the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. Both Montenegro and the disputed territory of Kosovo had already adopted the Deutsche Mark and later the euro when the mark was replaced by it in 2002. The Serbs in North Kosovo and the enclaves within it continue to use the dinar. However, in February 2024, the Kosovan government banned the use of the dinar for payment, making the euro the sole legal tender nationwide. The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, later clarified that the currency was not banned but that the euro would be the only legal currency for commercial transactions and that there would be a months-long transition period to ease in the new legislation.

Between 2003 and 2006, the Serbian dinar used the ISO 4217 code CSD, with CS being the ISO 3166-1 country code for Serbia and Montenegro. When the State Union was dissolved in 2006, the dinar's ISO 4217 code was changed to the current RSD.

Coins

Coins currently in circulation are din. 1, din. 2, din. 5, din. 10, and din. 20 coins. All coins feature identical inscriptions in Serbian, using the Cyrillic and Latin scripts. The din. 10 and din. 20 coins are uncommon in circulation, as banknotes of the same value are used instead.

Coins
Image	Value	Technical parameters			Description			Date of
		Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	minting	issue	withdrawal	lapse
	din. 1	20 mm	4.34g	70% Cu, 12% Ni, 18% Zn	reeded	Denomination, relief of the building of the National Bank of Serbia, year of minting	Issuer's symbols, logo of the National Bank of Serbia	2003,2004	2 July 2003	Current
	din. 1	20 mm	4.26g	75% Cu, 0,5% Ni, 24,5% Zn	reeded		Coat of arms of Serbia, issuer's symbols	2005-2009	2 July 2005
	din. 1*		4.2g	Multilayer; low carbon steel core coated with a layer of copper on both sides/electroplated with a layer of copper and a layer of brass				2009~present	20 March 2009
	din. 2	22 mm	5.24g	70% Cu, 12% Ni, 18% Zn	reeded	Gračanica monastery	Issuer's symbols, logo of the National Bank of Serbia	2003	2 July 2003
	din. 2	22 mm	5.15g	75% Cu, 0,5% Ni, 24,5% Zn	reeded		Coat of arms of Serbia, issuer's symbols	2006~2010	27 December 2006
	din. 2*		5.05g	Multilayer; low carbon steel core coated with a layer of copper on both sides/electroplated with a layer of copper and a layer of brass				2009~present	20 March 2009
	din. 5	24 mm	6.23g	70% Cu, 12% Ni, 18% Zn	reeded	Krušedol monastery	Issuer's symbols, logo of the National Bank of Serbia	2003	2 July 2003
	din. 5	24 mm	6.13g	75% Cu, 0,5% Ni, 24,5% Zn	reeded		Coat of arms of Serbia, issuer's symbols	2005~2012	2 July 2005
|	din. 5*		5.78g	Multilayer; low carbon steel core coated with a layer of copper on both sides/electroplated with a layer of copper and a layer of brass				2013~present	5 July 2013
	din. 10	26 mm	7.77 g	70% Cu, 12% Ni, 18% Zn	reeded	Studenica monastery	Logo of the National Bank of Serbia	2003	2 July 2003	current
	din. 10						Serbian coat of arms	2005~present	2 July 2005
|	din. 10	26 mm	7.77 g		reeded	2009 Summer Universiade logo	Serbian coat of arms	2009	26 June 2009
|	din. 20	28 mm	9.00 g		reeded	Church of Saint Sava	Logo of the National Bank of Serbia	2003	2 July 2003
|	din. 20	28 mm	9.00 g		reeded	Portrait of Nikola Tesla	Serbian coat of arms	2006	30 July 2006
|	din. 20	28 mm	9.00 g		reeded	Portrait of Dositej Obradović, Serbian writer, philosopher, dramatist, librettist, translator, linguist, traveler, polyglot and the first minister of education of Serbia	Serbian coat of arms	2007	10 December 2007
|	din. 20	28 mm	9.00 g		reeded	Portrait of Milutin Milanković	Serbian coat of arms	2009	26 June 2009
|	din. 20	28 mm	9.00 g		reeded	Portrait of Đorđe Vajfert, industrialist, Governor of the National Bank of Serbia and Humanitarian	Serbian coat of arms	2010	16 June 2010
|	din. 20	28 mm	9.00 g		reeded	Portrait of Ivo Andrić, Serbian nobel prize winner from modern day Bosnia	Serbian coat of arms	2011	20 May 2011
|	din. 20	28 mm	9.00 g		reeded	Portrait of Mihajlo Pupin, Serbian physicist, physical chemist and philanthropist	Serbian coat of arms	2012	8 June 2012
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table. In 2011, the coat of arms of Serbia was slightly modified. In 2013 the metal content was slightly altered.

Banknotes

In 2003, banknotes of the (re-established) National Bank of Serbia were introduced in denominations of din. 100, din. 1,000, and din. 5,000. din. 500 followed these in 2004, din. 50 in 2005, din. 10, din. 20 and din. 200 in 2006, din. 2,000 in 2011.

Denomination	Obverse image	Reverse image	Main colour	Obverse	Reverse	Remark
din. 10 131 × 62 mm			Ochre-yellow	Vuk Stefanović Karadžić (1787 – 1864), philologist and linguist	Member of the First Prague Slavic Congress, 1848 and a vignette of the letters Vuk introduced.	Replaced with a slightly lighter 2006 issue. A revised issue entered circulation in 2011.
din. 20 135 × 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.	Replaced with a slightly darker 2006 issue. A revised issue entered circulation in 2011.
din. 50 139 × 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. A revised issue entered circulation in 2011.
din. 100 143 × 68 mm			Blue	Nikola Tesla (1856 – 1943), inventor	A detail from the Tesla electro-magnetic induction engine.	Redesigned in 2003, 2004 and 2006. A revised issue entered circulation in 2012.
din. 200 147 × 70 mm			Brown	Nadežda Petrović (1873 – 1915), painter	Silhouette of the Gračanica Monastery.	Redesigned in 2005. A revised issue entered circulation in 2011.
din. 500 147 × 70 mm			Cyan	Jovan Cvijić (1865 – 1927), geographer	Stylized ethnic motifs.	Redesigned in 2007. A revised issue entered circulation in 2011.
din. 1,000 151 × 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.	Redesigned in 2003 and 2006. A revised issue entered circulation in 2011.
din. 2,000 155 × 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).	Entered circulation in 2011.
din. 5,000 159 × 76 mm			Purple	Slobodan Jovanović (1869 – 1958), jurist, historian, university professor and politician	Stylized representation of the interior of the assembly hall; silhouette of the National Assembly.	Redesigned in 2010. A revised issue entered circulation in 2016.

See also

• Economy of Serbia
• Macedonian denar
• Yugoslav dinar
• Yugoslav krone

References

Sources

• Krause, Chester L.; 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

• Heiko Otto (ed.). "Historical and current banknotes of Serbia" (in English and German). Retrieved 2018-06-05.