Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark facts for kids

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Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark

Convertible marks coins and banknotes¹

ISO 4217 Code

BAM

User(s)

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Inflation

−0.9%

Source

The World Factbook, 2014 est.

Method

CPI

Pegged with

Euro (€) = KM 1.95583

Subunit

1⁄100

Fening
"Fening" is the official English language name of the subunit.

Symbol

Fening

Plural

The language(s) of this currency belong(s) to the Slavic languages. There is more than one way to construct plural forms. See article.

Coins

5, 10, 20, and 50 fenings;
KM 1, KM 2, KM 5

Banknotes

Freq. used

KM 10, KM 20, KM 50, KM 100

Rarely used

KM 200

Printer

Imprimerie Oberthur
(by François-Charles Oberthür)

¹ Designs for KM 10, KM 20, KM 50, and KM 100 banknotes differ for the two constituent polities, the FBiH and RS, in some aspects, including images and order of scripts. The residual KM 200 banknote and all of the coins are identical for both polities.

The convertible mark is the official money of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It's often called "KM" for short. This money is split into 100 smaller units called fenings.

Even though Bosnia and Herzegovina has two main parts, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS), the convertible mark and its fenings are used everywhere. However, the designs on some banknotes (like the KM 10, KM 20, KM 50, and KM 100 notes) are a bit different for each part.

How the Convertible Mark Started
- What "Fening" Means
Coins of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Banknotes of Bosnia and Herzegovina
How the Mark Compares to Other Money
Interesting Facts and Past Mistakes
See also

How the Convertible Mark Started

The convertible mark was created after the Dayton Agreement in 1995. This agreement helped bring peace to Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1998, the convertible mark became the only money used in the country. It replaced older currencies like the Bosnia and Herzegovina dinar and the Croatian kuna.

The name "mark" comes from the Deutsche Mark, which was Germany's money before the euro. The convertible mark was set up to have the exact same value as the Deutsche Mark. This means it was "pegged" to it, like being tied together.

What "Fening" Means

The names "marka" and "fening" come from German words. Even though the official name for the smaller unit was "pfenig," most people found it hard to say. So, they started saying "fening" instead. This new pronunciation became so common that "fening" is now the official name for the smaller coin.

People in Bosnia and Herzegovina often just call the money "marka" (mark) and the smaller coins "kovanice" (nickels).

Coins of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Coins for the convertible mark were first made in December 1998. These were 10, 20, and 50 fening coins. Later, 5 fening coins and KM 1, KM 2, and KM 5 coins were also made.

A Bosnian designer named Kenan Zekić created the look of these coins. They are made at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Wales, in the United Kingdom.

Coins of the convertible mark (1998–present)
Image O R	Value	Technical parameters			Description			Date of
Image O R	Value	Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	minting	issue	withdrawal	lapse
O R	5 fenings	18.00 mm	2.66 g	nickel-plated steel	reeded	Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina, country name, denomination	Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina, country name, year	2005–present	5 January 2006	Current
O R	10 fenings	20.00 mm	3.90 g	copper-plated steel	plain	Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina, country name, denomination	Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina, country name, year	1998–present	9 December 1998	Current
O R	20 fenings	22.00 mm	4.50 g		reeded			1998–present
O R	50 fenings	24.00 mm	5.15 g		reeded			1998–present
O R	1 mark	23.25 mm	4.95 g	nickel-plated steel	milled and smooth	Denomination, country name, indented and inverted triangles*	Coat of arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina	2000–present	31 July 2000	Current
O R	2 marks	25.75 mm	6.90 g	cupro-nickel (inner ring); golden 5.5%; nickel-brass combination (outer ring)	milled and smooth		Peace dove	2000–present	31 July 2000
O R	5 marks	30.00 mm	10.35 g	nickel-brass (inner ring); copper-nickel (outer ring)	milled		Peace dove	2005–present	5 January 2006
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table. The triangles are intended for the visually impaired.

Banknotes of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Banknotes were first released in 1998. These included 50 fening, KM 1, KM 5, KM 10, KM 20, KM 50, and KM 100 notes. Later, a KM 200 note was added in 2002. Some of the smaller notes, like the 50 fening, KM 1, and KM 5, were later taken out of use.

All the banknotes you see today can be used anywhere in the country. The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina prints these notes. Most banknotes are printed by a French company called Oberthur.

Banknotes for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The banknotes for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina have specific designs. They usually feature important people and landmarks from that region.

Banknotes of the convertible mark for FBiH (1998–present)
Image O R	Value	Technical parameters		Description		Date of
Image O R	Value	Dimensions	Watermark	Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue	withdrawal	lapse
O R	50 fenings	120 mm × 60 mm	Central Bank monogram repeated vertically	Skender Kulenović	Stećak Zgošca fragment	No date (1998)	22 June 1998	1 January 2003	1 April 2018
O R	1 mark	120 mm × 60 mm		Ivan Franjo Jukić	Stećak Stolac fragment	No date (1998)		1 January 2009	1 April 2018
O R	5 marks	122 mm × 62 mm		Meša Selimović	Trees	No date (1998)		1 January 2010	1 April 2018
O R	10 marks	130 mm × 65 mm		Mehmedalija Mak Dizdar	Stećak Križevići fragment (until 2017 print, wrongly named as "Stećak Radimlja", corrected in 2019 print)	No date (1998) (2008) (2012) (2017) (2019)	22 June 1998 4 November 2008 1 June 2012 14 April 2017	Current
O R	20 marks	138 mm × 68 mm		Antun Branko Šimić	Stećak Radimlja fragment	No date (1998) (2008) (2012) (2019)	22 June 1998 4 November 2008 1 June 2012 14 April 2017
O R	50 marks	146 mm × 71 mm		Musa Ćazim Ćatić	Stone relief	No date (1998) (2002) (2007) (2008) (2009) (2012) (2017) (2019)	22 June 1998 No date (2002) 1 March 2007 No date (2008) 14 December 2009 1 June 2012
O R	100 marks	154 mm × 74 mm		Nikola Šop	Stećak Zgošca fragment	No date (1998) (2002) (2007) (2008) (2012) (2017) (2019)	27 July 1998 No date (2002) 1 March 2007 No date (2008) 1 June 2012
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Banknotes for Republika Srpska

The banknotes for Republika Srpska also have their own unique designs. These notes feature different important people and symbols from that area. On these notes, the text is first written in Cyrillic script, then in Latin script.

Banknotes of the convertible mark for RS (1998–present)
Image O R	Value	Technical parameters		Description		Date of
Image O R	Value	Dimensions	Watermark	Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue	withdrawal	lapse
O R	50 fenings	120 mm × 60 mm	Central Bank monogram repeated vertically	Branko Ćopić	House and books	No date (1998)	22 June 1998	1 January 2003	1 April 2018
O R	1 mark	120 mm × 60 mm		Ivo Andrić	The Bridge on the Drina	No date (1998)		15 July 1998	1 April 2018
O R	5 marks	122 mm × 62 mm		Meša Selimović	Trees	No date (1998)		1 January 2010	1 April 2018
O R	10 marks	130 mm × 65 mm		Aleksa Šantić	Loaf of bread	No date (1998) (2008) (2012) (2017) (2019)	22 June 1998 4 November 2008 1 June 2012	Current
O R	20 marks	138 mm × 68 mm		Filip Višnjić	Gusle (musical instrument)	No date (1998) (2008) (2012) (2019)	22 June 1998 4 November 2008 1 June 2012
O R	50 marks	146 mm × 71 mm		Jovan Dučić	pen, eyeglasses and book	No date (1998) (2002) (2007) (2008) (2009) (2012) (2017) (2019)	22 June 1998 No date (2002) 1 March 2007 No date (2008) 14 December 2009 1 June 2012
O R	100 marks	154 mm × 74 mm		Petar Kočić	pen, eyeglasses and book	No date (1998) (2002) (2007) (2008) (2012) (2017) (2019)	27 July 1998 No date (2002) 1 March 2007 No date (2008) 1 June 2012
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Banknotes for Both Regions

Some banknotes are designed to be the same for both the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. For example, the KM 1 and KM 5 notes used to feature writers Ivan Franjo Jukić and Meša Selimović.

On May 15, 2002, a KM 200 banknote was introduced. This note was designed by Robert Kalina, who also designed the euro banknotes. The picture of a bridge on the back of the KM 200 note is similar to the bridges on euro notes. An Austrian company called Oesterreichische Banknoten und Sicherheitsdruck GmbH (OeBS) prints these notes.

Banknotes of the convertible mark for both entities (2002–present)
Image O R	Value	Technical parameters		Description		Date of
Image O R	Value	Dimensions	Watermark	Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue	withdrawal	lapse
O R	200 marks	156 mm × 76 mm	Image of the Bridge on River Drina	Ivo Andrić	The Bridge on the Drina	No date (2002) 17 August 2022	15 May 2002	Current
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

How the Mark Compares to Other Money

When the convertible mark was first created, its value was directly linked to the Deutsche Mark. This meant they had the same value.

Since 2002, the Deutsche Mark has been replaced by the euro. So, the Bosnian convertible mark now uses the same fixed exchange rate to the euro that the Deutsche Mark used to have. This means that 1 euro is always worth 1.95583 convertible marks.

Current BAM exchange rates
From Google Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD TRY
From Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD TRY
From XE.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD TRY
From OANDA:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD TRY
From fxtop.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD TRY

Interesting Facts and Past Mistakes

A mistake on the KM 1 banknote for Republika Srpska. The name of Ivo Andrić was spelled incorrectly in Cyrillic.

Like many things, money can sometimes have small mistakes. Here are a few interesting ones found on Bosnian convertible marks:

On some old 50 fening banknotes, the word "convertible" was printed next to "pfenig." But only the "mark" part of the money is actually called "convertible."
A KM 1 banknote for Republika Srpska had a famous writer's name, Ivo Andrić, spelled incorrectly in Cyrillic. This banknote was quickly taken out of use.
On some KM 5 banknotes, a Cyrillic word was accidentally printed using Latin letters. Also, another writer's name, Meša Selimović, was spelled with a wrong letter in Cyrillic.
The KM 10 banknote for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina had a picture of a stone monument called a stećak. For a long time, the banknote said it was from a place called Radimlja, but it was actually from Križevići. This mistake was confirmed and will be fixed in new printings.
On the coins, the word "pfenig" was engraved as "fening." This mistake became so common that "fening" is now the official name for the smaller unit of the convertible mark.