# United Arab Emirates dirham

The United Arab Emirates Dirham (/ˈdɪər(h)əm/; Arabic: درهم إماراتي, abbreviation: د.إ in Arabic, Dh (singular) and Dhs (plural) or DH in Latin; ISO code: AED) is the official currency of the United Arab Emirates. The dirham is subdivided into 100 fils (فلس). It is pegged to the United States Dollar at a constant exchange rate of approximately 3.67 AED to 1 USD.

## History

The name dirham is a loan from the Greek δραχμή (drakhmé). Due to centuries of trade and usage of the currency, dirham survived through the Ottoman Empire.
Before 1966, all the emirates that now form the UAE used the Gulf rupee, which was pegged at parity to the Indian rupee. On 6 June 1966, India decided to devalue the Gulf rupee against the Indian rupee. Not accepting the devaluation, several of the states still using the Gulf rupee adopted their own or other currencies. All the Trucial States except Abu Dhabi adopted the Qatar and Dubai riyal, which was equal to the Gulf rupee prior to the devaluation. These emirates briefly adopted the Saudi riyal during the transition from the Gulf rupee to the Qatar and Dubai riyal. Abu Dhabi used the Bahraini dinar, at a rate of 10 Gulf rupees = 1 dinar. In 1973, the UAE adopted the UAE dirham as its currency. Abu Dhabi adopted the UAE dirham in place of the Bahraini dinar, at 1 dinar = 10 dirhams, while in the other emirates, the Qatar and Dubai riyal were exchanged at par.

## Coins

In 1973, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 fils and 1 dirham. The 1, 5, and 10 fils are struck in bronze, with the higher denominations in cupro-nickel. The fils coins were the same size and composition as the corresponding Qatar and Dubai dirham coins. In 1995, the 5 fils, 10 fils, 50 fils, and 1 dirham coins were reduced in size, with the new 50 fils being curve-equilateral-heptagonal shaped.
The value and numbers on the coins are written in Eastern Arabic numerals and the text is in Arabic. The 1, 5, and 10 fils coins are rarely used in everyday life, The Central Bank of the UAE continues to produce 1,5 and 10 fills coins. However, these coins are primarily minted for collectors and commemorative purposes rather than for everyday circulation.So all amounts are rounded up or down to the nearest multiples of 25 fils. The 1 fils coin is a rarity and does not circulate significantly. In making a change there is a risk of confusing the old 50 fils coin for the modern 1 dirham coin because the coins are almost the same size.
Since 1976 the Currency Board of the United Arab Emirates has minted several commemorative coins celebrating different events and rulers of the United Arab Emirates. For details, see Commemorative coins of the United Arab Emirates dirham.
| Image | Image | Value | Technical parameters | Technical parameters | Technical parameters | Technical parameters | Technical parameters | Description | Description |
| Obverse | Reverse | Value | Diameter | Thickness | Weight | Edge | Shape | Obverse | Reverse |
| | | 1 fils | 15 mm | 1.1 mm | 1.5 g | Smooth | Circular | Three date palms at the center with the lettering "لزيادة انتاج المحاصيل الغذائية" above and year of issue in Hijri and Gregorian calendar. | Lettering: "الامارات العربية المتحدة", below it "١", below it "فلس" and below it "UNITED ARAB EMIRATES" |
| | | 5 fils | 19 mm | 1.65 mm | 2.9 g | Smooth | Circular | Lethrinus nebulous at the center with the lettering "نظافة البحار تعني المزيد من الغذاء للبشر" above and year of issue in Hijri and Gregorian calendar. | Lettering: "الامارات العربية المتحدة", below it "٥", below it "فلوس" and below it "UNITED ARAB EMIRATES" |
| | | 10 fils | 17 mm | 1.2 mm | 2.2 g | Smooth | Circular | Dhow; year of issue in Hijri and Gregorian calendar. | Lettering: "الامارات العربية المتحدة", below it "١۰", below it "فلوس" and below it "UNITED ARAB EMIRATES" |
| | | 25 fils | 20 mm | 1.5 mm | 3.5 g | Milled | Circular | Gazelle; year of issue in Hijri and Gregorian calendar. | Lettering: "الامارات العربية المتحدة", below it "٢٥", below it "فلساً" and below it "UNITED ARAB EMIRATES" |
| | | 50 fils | 21 mm | 1.7 mm | 4.4 g | Smooth | Heptagon | Three oil derricks;; year of issue in Hijri and Gregorian calendar. | Lettering: "الامارات العربية المتحدة", below it "٥۰", below it "فلساً" and below it "UNITED ARAB EMIRATES" |
| | | Dh 1 | 24 mm | 2 mm | 6.1 g | Milled | Circular | Dallah; year of issue in Hijri and Gregorian calendar. | Lettering: "الامارات العربية المتحدة", below it "١", below it "درهم" and below it "UNITED ARAB EMIRATES" |

### Issues with fraud

By August 2006 it became publicly known that the Philippine one peso coin is the same size as one dirham. As 1 peso is only worth 8 fils, this has led to vending machine fraud in the UAE. Pakistan's 5 rupee coin, the Omani 50 Baisa coin and the Moroccan 1 dirham are also the same sizes as the Emirati one dirham coin. Although 1 mm thinner, one dirham coin has also been found in ten-cent coin rolls in Australia. A falcon watermark is present on all dirham notes to prevent fraud.

## Banknotes

On 20 May 1973, the UAE Currency Board introduced notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 dirhams; a Dhs 1,000 note was issued on 3 January 1976. A second series of note was introduced in 1982 which omitted the Dh 1 and Dhs 1,000 notes. Dhs 500 notes were introduced in 1983, followed by Dhs 200 in 1989. Dhs 1,000 notes were reintroduced in 2000. Banknotes are currently available in denominations of Dhs 5 (brown), Dhs 10 (green), Dhs 20 (light blue), Dhs 50 (purple), Dhs 100 (pink), Dhs 200 (green/brown), Dhs 500 (navy blue) and Dhs 1,000 (greenish blue).
The obverse texts are written in Arabic with numbers in Eastern Arabic numerals; the reverse texts are in English with numbers in Arabic numerals. The 200 dirham denomination is scarce as it was only produced in 1989; any circulating today comes from bank stocks. The 200 dirham denomination has since been reissued and is now in circulation since late May 2008 – it has been reissued in a different colour; Yellow/Brown to replace the older Green/Brown.
On 22 March 2008, The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates released a Dhs 50 note. The security thread was a 3-mm wide, colour-shifting windowed security thread with demetalized UAE 50, and it bore the new coat of arms. On 7 December 2021, a redesigned polymer Dhs 50 note was released to commemorate the golden jubilee of the country on 2 December 2021, making it the UAE's first polymer banknote. Additional new polymer banknotes of Dhs 5 and Dhs 10 were introduced on 21 April 2022, with the Dhs 1000 released in the first half of 2023, and the Dhs 500 note reportedly introduced on 30 November 2023.

### Second issue

| Image | Value | Dimensions (mm) | Main colour | Main colour | Description | Description | Date of |
| Image | Value | Dimensions (mm) | Main colour | Main colour | Obverse | Reverse | first printing |
| | Dhs 5 | 143 x 60 | | Brown | Central Souq, Sharjah | Northern Emirates landscape Salem Al Mutawa Mosque, Sharjah | 1982 |
| | Dhs 10 | 147 x 62 | | Green | Khanjar | Pilot farm | 1982 |
| | Dhs 20 | 149 x 63 | | Sky blue | Creek Golf and Yacht Club, Dubai | Trading dhow | 1997 |
| | Dhs 50 | 151 x 64 | | Purple | Oryx | Al Jahili Fort, Al Ain | 1982 |
| | Dhs 100 | 155 x 66 | | Red | Al Fahidi Fort, Dubai | World Trade Centre, Dubai | 1982 |
| | Dhs 200 | 157 x 67 | | Orange | Sharia court building Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi | Central bank building, Abu Dhabi | 1989 |
| | Dhs 500 | 159 x 68 | | Blue | Saker falcon | Jumeirah Mosque, Dubai | 1983 |
| | Dhs 1000 | 163 x 70 | | Green and brown | Qasr al-Hosn, Abu Dhabi | Corniche, Abu Dhabi | 1998 |

### Third issue

| Image | Value | Dimensions (mm) | Main colour | Main colour | Description | Description | Date of | Date of |
| Image | Value | Dimensions (mm) | Main colour | Main colour | Obverse | Reverse | first printing | issue |
| | Dhs 5 | 143 x 66 | | Brown | Ajman Fort, Ajman | Dhayah Fort, Ras Al Khaimah | 26 April 2022 | 26 April 2022 |
| | Dhs 10 | 147 x 66 | | Green | Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi | Khor Fakkan Amphitheatre, Sharjah | 21 April 2022 | 21 April 2022 |
| | Dhs 50 | 151 x 66 | | Purple | Founding fathers of the Union | Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Etihad Museum, Dubai | 23 December 2021 | 23 December 2021 |
| | Dhs 500 | 159 x 66 | | Blue | Terra pavilion, Dubai | Museum of the Future and Burj Khalifa, Dubai | 30 November 2023 | 30 November 2023 |
| | Dhs 1000 | 163 x 66 | | Yellowish brown | Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan; Hope probe | Barakah nuclear power plant, Abu Dhabi | 10 April 2023 | 10 April 2023 |

## Exchange rates

On January 28, 1978, the dirham was officially pegged to the IMF's special drawing rights (SDRs). In practice, it has been pegged to the U.S. dollar for most of the time. Since November 1997, the dirham has been pegged to the US dollar at a rate of US$1 = Dhs 3.6725, which translates to approximately Dh 1 = US$0.272294.