Surinamese dollar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Surinamese dollar
20 dollar note 5 dollar note
ISO 4217 Code	SRD
User(s)	Suriname
Inflation	62.1% (Feb 2022)
Subunit
1⁄100	cent
Symbol	$, Sur$
Plural	dollar
cent	cent
Coins	1, 5, 10, 25, 100, 250 cent
Banknotes	5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 dollar

The Surinamese dollar (its official code is SRD) is the money used in Suriname since 2004. It's divided into 100 smaller units called cents. You'll often see it written with a dollar sign $, or sometimes Sr$ to show it's different from other types of dollars. When people in Suriname speak Dutch, they often just say "SRD" because "dollar" usually means the US dollar.

History of the Surinamese Dollar

The Surinamese dollar took the place of the Surinamese guilder on January 1, 2004. One new dollar was worth 1,000 old guilders. At first, only coins were ready for use. The paper money (banknotes) came out a bit later, in mid-February. This delay happened because of a problem at the company that printed the money.

Old Coins, New Value

Even though the currency changed, the old coins were still used. These coins were originally worth a fraction of a guilder. For example, a 25-cent coin used to be worth one-quarter of a guilder. When the dollar was introduced, these old coins were simply given their face value in the new cents. So, that same 25-cent coin was now worth 25 cents of the new dollar. This meant there was no need to make brand new coins right away. However, special collector coins were not part of this change.

Why the SRD Code?

The international code for the Surinamese dollar is SRD. This code was officially given to the currency to replace the old code for the Surinamese guilder (SRG). This helps countries around the world know which currency is being talked about.

SRD Versus US Dollar

People in Suriname often call their money "SRD" to tell it apart from the US dollar. The US dollar is also commonly used there, especially when people talk about prices for things like electronics, furniture, and cars.

How the Value Changed

From 2004 to 2021, the Central Bank of Suriname tried to control the value of the Surinamese dollar. However, because of rising prices (inflation) and other issues, the dollar's real value dropped compared to other major currencies. This led to a black market where people exchanged money at different rates.

To fix this, in June 2021, the central bank changed the official value of the SRD, making it worth 33% less. They also announced that the currency would "float freely." This means its value would be set by the market, like other major currencies. By June 2022, the official exchange rates started to match the real market value.

Exchange Rates Over Time

Here's how many Surinamese dollars you would need to get one U.S. dollar at different times:

Coins Used in Suriname

You can find coins in Suriname with values of 1, 5, 10, 25, 100, and 250 cents. These are the same coins that were used with the old currency, the guilder.

Banknotes (Paper Money)

When the Surinamese dollar replaced the guilder in 2004, new paper money was printed. These banknotes come in values of 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 SRD. In Dutch, which is spoken in Suriname, the word for the currency is usually used in its singular form on the notes.

Over the years, high inflation has made the Surinamese dollar buy less than it used to. To make it easier for people to handle cash, new banknotes with higher values of 200 and 500 SRD were announced in August 2023. These new notes started being used by the end of March 2024.

See also

• Economy of Suriname
• Central banks and currencies of the Caribbean
• Guyanese dollar

Images for kids

• 

  A 25 cent coin from Suriname.