Serbia is a country in south-eastern Europe that borders Hungary to the north, with Romania and Bulgaria to the east, with Macedonia to the south and with Montenegro, Bosnia and Croatia to the west. The currency of Serbia is the Serbian dinar.
History of the Serbian Dinar
Medieval dinar
The most notable use of the Serbian dinar was recorded in 1214 during the reign of Stefan. The minted silver dinar coins were used until 1459 when the empire of Stjepan ended. The Serbian currency dinar was coined in silver and was an important exchange tool during the Middle Ages. Most Serbian rulers commissioned the mint of silver coins that were a replica of the Grosso Venetian and included Latin characters. The ubiquity of silver in Serbian mines has made the dinar an important export item and has helped facilitate trade between Serbia and other European nations.
First modern Dinar
The first modern currency was used between 1868-1920. After the Ottoman conquest, several foreign currencies were used in Serbia with various coin mints distributed throughout the country in cities such as Novo Brdo and Belgrade. The dinar was also divided into ‘para’ which is a name derived from the Turkish meaning ‘money coin’. During the establishment of the Principality of Serbia in 1817, more foreign currencies remained in circulation, but this was later regulated by Prince Milos Obrenovic. It introduced exchange rates mainly based on the Serbian dollar as the standard currency. In 1867, the Serbian authorities ordered the minting of a national currency. The first coins were made using bronze in 1868, while silver and gold coins were introduced respectively in 1875 and 1879.
Second modern Dinar
The invasions of the Germans in some parts of Serbia in 1941 allowed the extensive use of the Serbian currency. This was later changed to the Yugoslav currency in circulation until 1944.
Third modern Dinar
In 2003, the Serbian dinar replaced the Yugoslavian dinar. The third modern dinar includes 1-, 2-, 5-, 10- and 20-dinar coins with identical Serbian scripts. The National Bank of Serbia has also introduced various denominations of banknotes in 2003, including 100-dinar, 1,000-dinar and 5,000-dinar notes, as well as a 500-dinar note in 2004, 50-dinar note in 2005, 10- and Notes dynamics 20 in 2006 and a dinarial note 2,000 in 2011. The dynamic notes 10 and 20 have essentially rendered 10 and 20 dynamic coins useless, and while coins can still be found in circulation, they are now quite rare.
The coins and banknotes of the third modern dinar have remained the currency of Serbia, known as the Serbian dinar, to date.
