Serbian dinar
100 dinars back
100 dinars
The Serbian dinar is the official currency of Serbia, one of the two republics that comprise Serbia-Montenegro. The other republic, Montenegro, uses the euro since 1999 prior to which it shared the Yugoslav dinar with with Serbia. A dinar equals 100 para. The current exchange rate is around US$0.02 for a dinar.
The illustrations feature the 2003 Nikola Tesla banknotes
The first mention of a "Serbian dinar" dates back to the reign of Stefan the First-Crowned Nemanjic in 1214. Up to the fall of Despot Stefan Lazarevic in 1459, most Serbian rulers minted dinars. The coin was an important symbol of Serbian statehood in the Middle Ages. Medieval money was struck exclusively in silver due to restrictions on gold, characteristic in Europe for that period.
Following the Ottoman conquest, different foreign currencies were used up to the mid 19th century. The Ottomans operated several coin mints throughout Serbia in Novo Brdo, Kucajna and Belgrade. Today's hundredth of a dinar in Serbia is the para, named after the last Turkish circulated silver coins (from the Arabic bara, silver).
The 19th century rules of Karadjordje and Prince Milos Obrenovic also saw circulation of many different currencies from all over Europe, 43 different kinds: 10 gold, 28 silver and 5 copper ones. Following the liberation from Turkish domination, steps were taken towards the establishment of an independent monetary system.
Faced with multiple currencies in circulation, Prince Mihailo Obrenovic ordered that a Serbian national currency be minted. The new coins of copper alloy were denominated in 1, 5 and 10 paras. The obverse sides featured the portrait of the prince and the year of issue, 1868. The silver dinar was struck only in 1875. It featured Prince Milan Obrenovic, in denominations of 50 paras, 1 and 2 dinars. The first gold coins were issued in 1879, in the value of 20 dinars. March 6, 1882, King Milan's coronation called for the issue of gold coins in denominations of 10 and 20 dinars, popularly called milandor (French Gold Milan).
History
A coin minted by Dusan in 1346 for the occasion of his crowning.
Photo courtesy of National bank of Serbia (www.nbs.org.yu)National Bank of Serbia
National Bank of Serbia is official bank of Serbia. It had many governors since 1884. See List of governors of national banks of Serbia and Yugoslavia.