Yugoslav dinar

Thedinar(Cyrillic:динар) was thecurrencyofYugoslavia. It was introduced in 1920 in theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which was replaced by theKingdom of Yugoslavia, and then theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.  The dinar was subdivided into 100para(Cyrillic:пара).
One of the successor states to former Yugoslavia, theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia, continued to use the same name for its currency until 2003, though Montenegro stopped exclusively using it in 1999 and moved away from it in 2000.
In the early 1990s, economic mismanagement made the government bankrupt and forced it to take money from the savings of the country's citizens. Following thebreakup of Yugoslavia, this caused severe and prolongedhyperinflation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which has been described as the worst in history.Large amounts of money were printed, with coins becoming redundant and inflation rates reaching over one billion per cent per year.This hyperinflation caused five revaluations between 1990 and 1994; in total there were eight distinct dinari. Six of the eight have been given distinguishing names and separateISO 4217codes. The highest denomination banknote was 500 billion dinars, which became worthless afortnightafter it was printed.
Until 1918, thedinarwas the currency ofSerbia. It then became the currency of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, circulating alongside thekroneinCroatia,SloveniaandBosnia and Herzegovina, with 1 dinar = 4 kronen. The first coins and banknotes bearing the name of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes were issued in 1920, until which time Serbian coins and banknotes circulated. In 1929, the name of the country changed to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and this was reflected on the currency.
In 1931, an exchange rate of 56.4 dinara to theU.S. dollarwas set, which changed to 44 dinara in 1933. In 1937, a tourist exchange rate of 250 dinara to theBritish poundwas established.
In 1941, Yugoslavia wasinvadedand split up, with the dinar remaining currency inTerritory of the Military Commander in Serbia(asSerbian dinar). Thekunawas introduced inCroatiaandBosnia and Herzegovina(Independent State of Croatia) at par with the dinar, whilst theBulgarian lev,Italian liraandGerman Reichsmarkcirculated in those part of Yugoslavia occupied by these countries.
In 1945, as Yugoslavia began to be reconstituted, the Yugoslav dinar replaced theSerbian dinar,Independent State of Croatia kunaand other occupation currencies, with the rates of exchanged being 1 Yugoslav dinar = 20 Serbian dinara = 40 kuna.
Yugoslavia was a founding member of theInternational Monetary Fund. At the time, other Communist countries avoided signing up to it. The dinar was initially pegged to the US dollar at a rate of 50 dinars to the dollar.By 1955, the peg had been depreciated to 300 dinars to the dollar, but this was only applicable to a limited number of transactions.For the vast majority of transactions, a system of multiple exchange rates with differing levels of government intervention applied. Depending on the transaction the system offered over 200 different exchange ratesranging from 600 or so dinars to the dollar to over 1,150.This multiple exchange rate system was abolished in 1961 and replaced with a single pegged rate of 750 dinars to the dollar.
On 1 January 1966, the first of five revaluations took place, at a ratio of 100 to 1.
The revalued currency was initially pegged to the US dollar at a rate of 12.50 dinars to the dollar.In late 1971, this was revised to 17 dinars to the dollar.Following theNixon Shock, Yugoslavia adopted a market exchange rate system. A foreign exchange market was established in Belgrade in which only banks could participate; this set the exchange rates for the entire country.This allowed the dinar to float (or perhaps more accurately, sink) more or less freely. Under this system, the exchange rate reached about 29 dinars to the dollar in 1981,127 dinars to the dollar by 1984,and 457 dinars to the dollar by 1987.
Yugoslavia's chronic inflation was poorly managed. Thehyperinflation in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslaviabecame a serious problem in the 1980s. Between 1971 and 1991, Yugoslavia's annualized inflation was 76 percent. OnlyBrazilandZairehad higher levels of inflation.
The large denomination coins were struck innickel brass.
The second revaluation took place on 1 January 1990, at a ratio of 10,000 to 1. During this period, the constituent republics began to leave theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Four of the six republics declared independence and issued their own currencies shortly after, and thebreakup of Yugoslaviawas recognized by the international community at the turn of 1992. This was the last dinar that bore thecoat of armsand the name of the "Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" in multiple languages.
Serbian enclaves in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in occupied territories in Croatia also issued currencies in dinar, equivalent to and revalued together with the Yugoslav dinar. These were theKrajina dinarand theRepublika Srpska dinar.
In theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia, which consisted of the remaining republics ofSerbiaandMontenegro, the third revaluation took place on 1 July 1992, at a ratio of 10 to 1.Hyperinflation in the countrybegan during this currency's period of circulation. Thesanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, instituted over the course of 1992, seriously impacted its economy. People started to use foreignhard currency, such asDeutsche Marks, to mitigate some of the problems of hyperinflation.
Yugoslavia re-denominated the dinar for the fourth time on 1 October 1993, at a ratio of 1 million to 1. This did not mitigate the hyperinflation, and the 1993 dinar (ISO 4217 code: YUO) lasted for only three months.
Coinage became redundant. The 1993 dinar had the largest denomination out of all incarnations of Yugoslav currency: the banknote, featuringJovan Jovanović Zmajhad a face value of 500 billion (5×10) dinara (right). Wages became worthless; if paid in cash, workers had to rush out and spend their wages before they lost their value overnight. Many businesses started to pay wages in goods instead, and a simple barter system developed. Businesses with good connections to politicians could still get access to hard currency. Some shops, instead ofrewriting their pricesseveral times a day, started pricing goods in "bods" (points), often equivalent to hard currency such as one Deutschmark. The winter of 1993 was particularly hard for pensioners; if a monthly pension was spent immediately, it was still barely enough to buy three litres of milk. Many people relied on connections to friends and family abroad (who could provide hard currency) or in the countryside (who could grow food).
Yugoslavia re-denominated the dinar for the fifth time on 1 January 1994, at a ratio of 1 billion (10) to 1.
The 1994 dinar (ISO 4217 code: YUG) was the shortest-lived out of all incarnations of Yugoslav currency, ashyperinflationcontinued to intensify,and only one coin (1 dinar) was issued for it. Towards the end of the 1994 dinar, the National Bank overprinted and reissued 10 million dinara banknotes from the 1992 dinar (right).
On 24 January 1994, thenovi dinar(nominative plural:novi dinari, Cyrillic script: нови динар, нови динари; genitive plural:novih dinara, Cyrillic: нових динара; novi means new) was introduced. This was not a revaluation of the dinar. Instead, the novi dinar was pegged at par to theDeutsche Mark. On the day of the introduction of the novi dinar, the exchange rate of the previous dinar to the Deutsche Mark, and, hence, to the novi dinar, was approximately 1 DM = 13 million dinara. Despite not being pegged to the newest currency, the previous dinar did not fall further in value, remaining at about 12 million "1994" dinar to the novi dinar.The overall impact of the hyperinflation was that 1 novi dinar equalled approximately 1.2×10third (hard) dinara from before 1990, 1.2×10Federation dinara, or 2.4×10pre-war dinara. The "novi" portion of the name was abandoned in 2000.
In 2003, as Yugoslavia became theState Union of Serbia and Montenegro, the Yugoslav dinar in theconstituent Republic of Serbiawas replaced by theSerbian dinar(CSD) at par.
On 6 November 1999, Montenegro decided that, besides the Yugoslav dinar, theDeutsche Markwould also be an official currency. On 13 November 2000, the dinar was dropped in Montenegro and the Deutsche Mark (by that time defined in terms of theeuro) became the only currency there. Deutsche Mark ceased to be alegal tenderin Germany and was physically replaced by theeuroon January 1, 2002, which is also whenMontenegro unilaterally adopted the euro, though itdoes not mint it.
In 2003, after the creation ofSerbia and Montenegro, the dinar, by then only used in Serbia, was replaced by theSerbian dinar. In practice, the introduction of the Serbian dinar functioned as a name change with their values beingat parand maintaining essentially the same banknote and coin designs except for the name of the state. Old Yugoslav banknotes remained in official use in parallel with the new Serbian notes until January 1, 2007, and old banknotes could be exchanged for new ones with services provided by theNational Bank of Serbiauntil the end of 2012.
In 1920, the first coins were minted in the name of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. They were zinc 5 and 10 para and nickel-bronze 25 para. These were followed, in 1925, by nickel-bronze 50 para, 1 and 2 dinara. From 1931, coins were minted in the name of Yugoslavia, starting with silver 10 and 20 dinara, followed by silver 50 dinara in 1932. In 1938, aluminium-bronze 50 para, 1 and 2 dinara, nickel 10 dinara and reduced size, silver 20 and 50 dinara were introduced. These were the last coins issued before theSecond World War.
In 1945, zinc 50 para, 1, 2 and 5 dinara were introduced, followed in 1953 by aluminium coins for the same denominations. In 1955, aluminium-bronze 10, 20 and 50 dinara were added.
In 1966, brass 5, 10, 20 and 50 para, and cupro-nickel 1 dinar coins (dated 1965) were introduced. In 1971, nickel-brass 2 and 5 dinara were introduced, followed by cupro-nickel 10 dinara in 1976. Production of 5, 10 and 20 para coins ceased in 1981, with bronze 25 and 50 para being introduced the following year. Nickel-brass 20, 50 and 100 dinara were introduced in 1985 and production of all coins less than 10 dinara stopped the next year. In 1988, brass 10, 20, 50 and 100 dinara were introduced. These four coins were issued until 1989.
In 1990, coins for 10, 20 and 50 para, 1, 2 and 5 dinara were introduced.  The highest two denominations were minted in small numbers in 1992, the other denominations having ceased production in 1991.
Coins were issued for this currency in 1992 in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50 dinara. The 1, 2 and 5 dinara were bronze, whilst the 10 and 50 dinara were nickel-brass. The coins bore the state title "Yugoslavia" (Jugoslavija in theLatinalphabet and Југославија inCyrillic) in its simplest form without any modifier.
Coins were issued in 1993 in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50 dinara struck in nickel-brass, and 100 dinara struck in brass. Brass 500 dinara coins were also struck but not issued, most being remelted. The design of these coins was similar to that of coins of the fifth dinar, except that the sixth dinar coins bore the state title "FR Yugoslavia" (SR Jugoslavija in Latin and СР Југославија in Cyrillic).
Only one coin type was struck for this short-lived currency, a brass 1 dinar.
In 1994, brass 1 and 5 para, and nickel-brass 10 and 50 para, and 1 novi dinar were introduced. In 2000 the word novi was dropped from the currency and new, brass 50 para, 1, 2 and 5 dinara coins were introduced.