Macedonian Denar
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The denar (; paucal: denari / ;
abbreviation An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening (linguistics), shortening, contraction (grammar), contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened for ...
: den / ; ISO code: MKD) is the
currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...
of
North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
. Though subdivided into one hundred deni (), coins with a denomination of less than one denar have not been in use since 2013.


History

The first denar was established as a temporary currency on 26 April 1992 in the then-
Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
, replacing the 1990 version of the Yugoslav dinar at a 1:1 parity. In May 1993, the currency was reformed and a new denar was introduced, with one new denar being equal to 100 old denars.


Etymology

The name denar comes from the name of the
ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
monetary unit, the ''
denarius The ''denarius'' (; : ''dēnāriī'', ) was the standard Ancient Rome, Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the ''antoninianus''. It cont ...
''. The
abbreviation An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening (linguistics), shortening, contraction (grammar), contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened for ...
is ден, the first three
Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...
letters of its name.


First denar (1992–1993)

The first denar was a temporary currency introduced on 26 April 1992 to replace the Yugoslav dinar at 1:1 parity and establish the monetary independence of Macedonia.


History

Macedonia declared independence from
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
on 8 September 1991. At the time, the country was using the Yugoslav dinar. But secret preparations were begun to introduce its own currency, and by April 1992, Macedonia was ready to acquire monetary independence from Yugoslavia. On 26 April, the National Bank of Macedonia was established and the denar declared the national currency. Notes in the form of "value coupons" entered circulation the following day, and on 30 April 1992, the Yugoslav dinar ceased to be legal tender. In May 1993, the first denar was replaced at a rate of 100 to 1 by a new, permanent denar consisting of notes and coins.


Coins

No
coins A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...
were issued for the first denar.


Banknotes

Temporary notes ("value coupons") were introduced on 27 April 1992, although preparations for producing them began much earlier. The notes remained in circulation until they were replaced by permanent notes of the second denar in 1993.


Production

Printing of the notes started on 15 January 1992 at the “11 October” printing firm in Prilep. The difficulties of creating a new currency in secret were reflected in the notes themselves. The paper, purchased from
Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
, proved to be of poor quality and lacked adequate security. Although denominated in denari, the name of the currency did not appear on the notes because they were printed prior to the adoption of the Law on the Monetary Unit. Likewise, the issuer appeared as the "National Bank of Macedonia", not its successor, the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia.


Design

The notes were designed by a young employee of the "11 October" printer, who had only one week and a limited budget to design them. Thus the six lowest denominations were identical, with the exception of their colours. All featured a man and two women picking tobacco leaves on the front, with the back devoted to the Ilinden monument in Kruševo, which, according to the bank, “expresses the eternal fight of citizens of Macedonia for life in peace and freedom.”


Exchange rates

The denar was introduced with a fixed exchange rate of 360 denars to the
Deutsche Mark The Deutsche Mark (; "German mark (currency), mark"), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later of unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it ...
. There was a devaluation in October 1992 and change to the basket peg, new devaluation in December 1992 and abandonment of the peg in mid-1993.


Second denar (1993–present)


Coins


First series (1993)

In May 1993, coins for the second denar were introduced in denominations of 50 deni, and 1, 2, and 5 denars. The coins were designed by Dimče Boškoski and Snežana Atanasovska. In November 2008, 10 and 50 denar coins were introduced, while the 50 deni coin was withdrawn in 2013. Due to its low mintage, it had only been struck in 1993 and was practically never seen in circulation. Since 1996, a large number of commemorative coins have been issued for collectors; a listing can be found on the national bank website. Coins are minted at the ''Suvenir'' factory in
Samokov Samokov ( ) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in Samokov Valley between the mountain ranges of Rila, Vitosha and Sredna Gora, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia. Due ...
, a village near Makedonski Brod.


Second series (2020)

Due to the country's name change as part of the Prespa Agreement, a new set of coins featuring the new name of North Macedonia is being released into circulation, starting with 1 denar coins in April 2021.


FAO coinage (1995)

In 1995, circulation coins of 1, 2, and 5 denar denominations were struck in honor of the United Nations'
Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...
.


Banknotes

In 1993, the new denar was issued in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, and 500 denar notes. The 20 denar note was only issued in this first series. In 1996, 1000 and 5000 denar notes were added. In 2016, notes of 200 and 2,000 denars were issued, while the national bank began withdrawing the 5000 denar banknote from circulation to re-balance the structure of notes in circulation. In 2017, the national bank unveiled its current polymer banknotes, the 10 and 50 denar notes, and put them into circulation on May 15.


Exchange rates

Since October 1995, the nominal exchange rate of the Denar was pegged against the
Deutsche Mark The Deutsche Mark (; "German mark (currency), mark"), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later of unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it ...
. Since January 2002, it is pegged against the
euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
. The denar is de facto pegged to the euro using a stabilization agreement at a rate of 1 EUR=61.3644 MKD +/- 1%.


See also

* Economy of North Macedonia *
Denarius The ''denarius'' (; : ''dēnāriī'', ) was the standard Ancient Rome, Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the ''antoninianus''. It cont ...
* Serbian dinar


References


External links


Ministry of Finance website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macedonian Denar Currencies of North Macedonia Currencies introduced in 1992 Currencies introduced in 1993 Currency symbols Circulating currencies Currencies of Europe Dinar