Serbian dinar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Serbian dinar
din. 2,000 banknote din. 20 coin
ISO 4217 Code	RSD
User(s)	Serbia
Inflation	8.0% (2023)
Source	NBS
Subunit
1⁄100	пара / para (defunct)
Symbol	DIN / дин
Plural	динари / dinari ("dinars")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
Freq. used	din. 1, din. 2, din. 5
Rarely used	din. 10, din. 20
Banknotes
Freq. used	din. 10, din. 20, din. 50, din. 100, din. 200, din. 500, din. 1,000, din. 2,000
Rarely used	din. 5,000
Printer	Institute for Manufacturing Banknotes and Coins - Topčider

The dinar is the official money used in Serbia. The word "dinar" comes from the ancient Roman coin called "denarius." People in Serbia first used the dinar way back in 1214. It was brought back as Serbia's official money by Prince Mihailo in 1868. Before, one dinar was split into 100 "para," but this smaller unit is not used anymore. As of August 2024, about 104.57 dinars are worth 1 US dollar.

History of the Dinar

Medieval Serbian Dinar

The first time we hear about a "Serbian dinar" was in 1214, during the rule of Stefan Nemanjić. Many Serbian rulers, until 1459, made silver dinar coins.

These early Serbian dinars looked a lot like coins from other parts of southern Europe, especially the "Venetian grosso." They even had Latin words on them. Serbian dinars were important for trade because Serbia had a lot of silver from its mines. Some people, like the famous writer Dante Alighieri, were not happy about how similar Serbian coins were to Venetian ones.

First Modern Serbian Dinar (1868–1920)

After the Ottoman Empire took over, many different foreign coins were used in Serbia until the mid-1800s. The Ottomans even had places where they made coins in Serbia. The smaller unit of the dinar, called the para, got its name from Turkish silver coins.

When the Principality of Serbia was officially formed in 1817, there were still many different foreign coins. Prince Miloš Obrenović decided to make things simpler. He set up exchange rates for 43 different foreign coins.

In 1867, the last Ottoman soldiers left Serbia. This meant Serbia needed its own money. So, Prince Mihailo Obrenović ordered that a national currency be made.

The first bronze coins came out in 1868. Silver coins followed in 1875, and gold coins in 1879. The first paper money was printed in 1876. From 1873 to 1894, the dinar's value was linked to the French franc. Serbia also joined a group of countries called the Latin Monetary Union. This meant their money was based on both gold and silver until 1914.

In 1920, the Serbian dinar was replaced by the Yugoslav dinar.

Coins of the First Modern Dinar

Paper money (5 dinar) from the Kingdom of Serbia during World War I (1917). It shows Miloš Obilić.

In 1868, bronze coins were made in values of 1, 5, and 10 paras. They had a picture of Prince Mihailo Obrenović III. Silver coins came out in 1875 (50 paras, 1 and 2 dinars), and then 5 dinars in 1879. The first gold coins were made in 1879 for 20 dinars, and 10 dinars in 1882. Gold coins made for King Milan I's coronation in 1882 were often called milandor, which means "Milan of Gold" in French. In 1883, new coins made of copper and nickel were introduced for 5, 10, and 20 paras. Bronze 2 para coins came out in 1904.

Banknotes of the First Modern Dinar

In 1876, the government started issuing paper money in values of 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 dinars. The National Bank then issued its own notes starting in 1884. These included 10 dinars backed by silver, and 50 and 100 dinars backed by gold. Later, 20 dinar gold notes and 100 dinar silver notes were introduced in 1905. However, people didn't trust the gold-backed notes much. They preferred to trade goods or exchange the notes for gold coins right away. Silver-backed notes, however, were popular and made up most of the paper money in use. During the Balkan Wars and World War I, you couldn't exchange banknotes for gold and silver for a while. During World War I, silver notes for 50 and 5 dinars were introduced. In 1915, even postage stamps were allowed to be used as money for small amounts.

Second Modern Serbian Dinar (1941–1944)

In 1941, during the German occupation of Serbia, a second Serbian dinar was introduced. It replaced the Yugoslav dinar. This new dinar was linked to the German reichsmark: 250 dinars were worth 1 reichsmark. This money was used until 1944. Then, the Yugoslav dinar was brought back, with 1 Yugoslav dinar being worth 20 Serbian dinars.

Coins of the Second Modern Dinar

In 1942, coins made of zinc were introduced in values of 50 paras, 1, and 2 dinars. Ten dinar coins followed in 1943.

Banknotes of the Second Modern Dinar

In May 1941, the Serbian National Bank started issuing paper money for 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 dinars. Some of these notes were simply older Yugoslav notes with new printing on them. More notes were issued in 1942 and 1943.

Third Modern Serbian Dinar (2003–Present)

The Serbian dinar we use today replaced the Yugoslav dinar in 2003. This happened when the country of Serbia and Montenegro was formed. Before this, Montenegro and the area of Kosovo had already started using the German Deutsche Mark, and later the euro when it replaced the Mark in 2002.

However, Serbs living in North Kosovo and other Serbian areas there still use the dinar. In February 2024, the Kosovan government said that the euro would be the only legal money for payments. The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, later explained that the dinar wasn't completely banned, but the euro would be the main money for business. He also said there would be a few months to get used to the new rule.

Between 2003 and 2006, the Serbian dinar had the code CSD. This code came from "CS," which was the country code for Serbia and Montenegro. When Serbia and Montenegro separated in 2006, the dinar's code changed to the current RSD.

Coins of the Third Modern Dinar

A 5 Serbian dinar coin.

The coins you can use today are 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 dinars. All these coins have the same words written on them in both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, which are used in Serbia. The 10 and 20 dinar coins are not seen as often because people usually use paper money for those values instead.

Coins
Image	Value	Technical parameters			Description			Date of
		Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	minting	issue	withdrawal	lapse
	din. 1	20 mm	4.34g	70% Cu, 12% Ni, 18% Zn	reeded	Denomination, relief of the building of the National Bank of Serbia, year of minting	Issuer's symbols, logo of the National Bank of Serbia	2003,2004	2 July 2003	Current
	din. 1	20 mm	4.26g	75% Cu, 0,5% Ni, 24,5% Zn	reeded		Coat of arms of Serbia, issuer's symbols	2005-2009	2 July 2005
	din. 1*		4.2g	Multilayer; low carbon steel core coated with a layer of copper on both sides/electroplated with a layer of copper and a layer of brass				2009~present	20 March 2009
	din. 2	22 mm	5.24g	70% Cu, 12% Ni, 18% Zn	reeded	Gračanica monastery	Issuer's symbols, logo of the National Bank of Serbia	2003	2 July 2003
	din. 2	22 mm	5.15g	75% Cu, 0,5% Ni, 24,5% Zn	reeded		Coat of arms of Serbia, issuer's symbols	2006~2010	27 December 2006
	din. 2*		5.05g	Multilayer; low carbon steel core coated with a layer of copper on both sides/electroplated with a layer of copper and a layer of brass				2009~present	20 March 2009
	din. 5	24 mm	6.23g	70% Cu, 12% Ni, 18% Zn	reeded	Krušedol monastery	Issuer's symbols, logo of the National Bank of Serbia	2003	2 July 2003
	din. 5	24 mm	6.13g	75% Cu, 0,5% Ni, 24,5% Zn	reeded		Coat of arms of Serbia, issuer's symbols	2005~2012	2 July 2005
|	din. 5*		5.78g	Multilayer; low carbon steel core coated with a layer of copper on both sides/electroplated with a layer of copper and a layer of brass				2013~present	5 July 2013
	din. 10	26 mm	7.77 g	70% Cu, 12% Ni, 18% Zn	reeded	Studenica monastery	Logo of the National Bank of Serbia	2003	2 July 2003	current
	din. 10						Serbian coat of arms	2005~present	2 July 2005
|	din. 10	26 mm	7.77 g		reeded	2009 Summer Universiade logo	Serbian coat of arms	2009	26 June 2009
|	din. 20	28 mm	9.00 g		reeded	Church of Saint Sava	Logo of the National Bank of Serbia	2003	2 July 2003
|	din. 20	28 mm	9.00 g		reeded	Portrait of Nikola Tesla	Serbian coat of arms	2006	30 July 2006
|	din. 20	28 mm	9.00 g		reeded	Portrait of Dositej Obradović, Serbian writer and philosopher	Serbian coat of arms	2007	10 December 2007
|	din. 20	28 mm	9.00 g		reeded	Portrait of Milutin Milanković	Serbian coat of arms	2009	26 June 2009
|	din. 20	28 mm	9.00 g		reeded	Portrait of Đorđe Vajfert, industrialist and former Governor of the National Bank of Serbia	Serbian coat of arms	2010	16 June 2010
|	din. 20	28 mm	9.00 g		reeded	Portrait of Ivo Andrić, Serbian Nobel Prize winner	Serbian coat of arms	2011	20 May 2011
|	din. 20	28 mm	9.00 g		reeded	Portrait of Mihajlo Pupin, Serbian physicist and philanthropist	Serbian coat of arms	2012	8 June 2012
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table. In 2011, the coat of arms of Serbia was slightly modified. In 2013 the metal content was slightly altered.

Banknotes of the Third Modern Dinar

In 2003, the National Bank of Serbia started issuing new paper money. The first values were 100, 1,000, and 5,000 dinars. A 500 dinar note came out in 2004, followed by 50 dinars in 2005. In 2006, 10, 20, and 200 dinar notes were introduced. Finally, a 2,000 dinar note was added in 2011.

Denomination	Obverse image	Reverse image	Main colour	Obverse	Reverse	Remark
din. 10 131 × 62 mm			Ochre-yellow	Vuk Stefanović Karadžić (1787 – 1864), philologist and linguist	Member of the First Prague Slavic Congress, 1848 and a vignette of the letters Vuk introduced.	Replaced with a slightly lighter 2006 issue. A revised issue entered circulation in 2011.
din. 20 135 × 64 mm			Green	Petar II Petrović-Njegoš (1813 – 1851), metropolitan, statesman, philosopher, and poet	His figure on the back, instead of the statue from the Mausoleum on Mount Lovćen.	Replaced with a slightly darker 2006 issue. A revised issue entered circulation in 2011.
din. 50 139 × 66 mm			Violet	Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac (1856 – 1914), composer and music educator	Figure of Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac, a motif of Miroslav Gospels illumination scores.	Redesigned in 2005. A revised issue entered circulation in 2011.
din. 100 143 × 68 mm			Blue	Nikola Tesla (1856 – 1943), inventor	A detail from the Tesla electro-magnetic induction engine.	Redesigned in 2003, 2004 and 2006. A revised issue entered circulation in 2012.
din. 200 147 × 70 mm			Brown	Nadežda Petrović (1873 – 1915), painter	Silhouette of the Gračanica Monastery.	Redesigned in 2005. A revised issue entered circulation in 2011.
din. 500 147 × 70 mm			Cyan	Jovan Cvijić (1865 – 1927), geographer	Stylized ethnic motifs.	Redesigned in 2007. A revised issue entered circulation in 2011.
din. 1,000 151 × 72 mm			Red	Đorđe Vajfert (1850 – 1937), industrialist	An outline of Weifert's beer brewery, hologram image of St. George slaying a dragon; details from the interior of the main building of the National Bank of Serbia.	Redesigned in 2003 and 2006. A revised issue entered circulation in 2011.
din. 2,000 155 × 74 mm			Grey	Milutin Milanković (1879 – 1958), mathematician, astronomer and geophysicist	Milanković's figures while at the desk (below: a graphical representation of his calculations of snow boundary movement for the past Quaternary) and from his student days in Vienna (behind: a stylised Sun disk drawing fragment and an illustration of Milanković's work).	Entered circulation in 2011.
din. 5,000 159 × 76 mm			Purple	Slobodan Jovanović (1869 – 1958), jurist, historian and politician	Stylized representation of the interior of the assembly hall; silhouette of the National Assembly.	Redesigned in 2010. A revised issue entered circulation in 2016.

See also

• Economy of Serbia
• Macedonian denar
• Yugoslav dinar
• Yugoslav krone