The manat (Turkmen: manat) is the official money of Turkmenistan. It is shown with the symbol m and has the code TMT. The manat is divided into 100 smaller units called tenge (Turkmen: teňňe).

The first manat was introduced on November 1, 1993. It replaced the old Soviet rouble. Later, because prices kept going up very fast (this is called inflation), a new manat was introduced. This happened on January 1, 2009. One new manat was worth 5,000 old manats.

What Does "Manat" Mean?
Coins of Turkmenistan
- First Manat Coins (1993-2009)
- Second Manat Coins (2009-Present)
Banknotes of Turkmenistan
- First Manat Banknotes (1993-2009)
- Second Manat Banknotes (2009-Present)
Manat Exchange Rates
See also

What Does "Manat" Mean?

The word "manat" comes from the Persian word munāt. It also comes from the Russian word монета (moneta). Both of these words mean "coin." This name was used for the Soviet currency in the Turkmen and Azerbaijani languages.

Coins of Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan has had two main types of coins since 1993.

First Manat Coins (1993-2009)

In 1993, Turkmenistan started using coins for 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50 tenge. The smaller coins (1, 5, 10 tenge) were made of steel with a copper coating. The larger coins were made of steel with a nickel coating. These coins did not last long. The metal they were made from soon became worth more than the coin itself.

After a lot of inflation, new coins for 500 and 1,000 manats were made in 1999. By law, all coins from this time had to show the picture of the president.

Coins of the Turkmen manat (First manat)
Image		Value	Diameter (millimeters)	What it's made of	What it looks like		When it was made
Front	Back	Value	Diameter (millimeters)	What it's made of	Front	Back	When it was made
		1 tenge	16 mm	Copper-plated steel	Saparmurat Niyazov	Value in the middle of a flower design	1993
		5 tenge	19.5 mm
		10 tenge	22.5 mm
		20 tenge	20.9 mm	Nickel-plated steel	Saparmurat Niyazov	Value in the middle of a flower design	1993
		50 tenge	24 mm	Nickel-plated steel		Value above a Cornucopia with a goat head	1993
		500 manats	20.9 mm	Nickel-clad steel		The value and the year it was made	1999
		1,000 manats	24 mm	Nickel-clad steel		The value and the year it was made	1999
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Second Manat Coins (2009-Present)

When the money system was changed in 2009, new coins were released. These included 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 tenge. In 2010, two-metal coins for 1 and 2 manats were also made.

The 1, 2, and 5 tenge coins are made of nickel-plated steel. The 10, 20, and 50 tenge coins are made of brass. Instead of showing the president, these coins feature a map of Turkmenistan with the Independence Tower on top. All coins used in Turkmenistan are made by the Royal Mint.

Coins of the Turkmen manat (Second manat)
Image		Value	Diameter (millimeters)	What it's made of	What it looks like		When it was made
Front	Back	Value	Diameter (millimeters)	What it's made of	Front	Back	When it was made
		1 tenge	16 mm	Nickel-plated steel	Independence Monument on the map of Turkmenistan	The value and the year it was made	2009
		2 tenge	18 mm
		5 tenge	20 mm
		10 tenge	22 mm	Brass
		20 tenge	24 mm
		50 tenge	26 mm
		1 manat	27 mm	Two metals: copper-nickel in the middle, brass ring			2010
		2 manats	28 mm	Two metals: brass in the middle, copper-nickel ring			2010
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Banknotes of Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan has also had different series of banknotes.

First Manat Banknotes (1993-2009)

In 1993, banknotes were introduced in values from 1 to 500 manats. These replaced the Soviet rouble notes. Later, 1,000 manat notes were added in 1995, and 5,000 and 10,000 manat notes in 1996.

In 2005, a new set of notes was released. These included 50, 100, 500, 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 manats. All notes, except for the 1 and 5 manat ones, showed a picture of the former president, Saparmurat Niyazov. All Turkmen banknotes are printed by the company De La Rue.

Banknotes of the Turkmenistan manat (First manat)
Image		Value	Size (millimeters)	Main Color	What it looks like		When it was made	First date of issue	Watermark
Front	Back	Value	Size (millimeters)	Main Color	Front	Back	When it was made	First date of issue	Watermark
[1]	[2]	1 manat	120 x 60 mm	Orange and red	Ylymlar academy, Aşğabat	Ilarslanyn Yadygarligi mausoleum	1993
[3]	[4]	5 manats	125 x 62.5 mm	Blue	Bazcylyk Okuw Polytechnic Institute, Aşğabat	Abu Seyidiñ mausoleum	1993
[5]	[6]	10 manats	133 x 66 mm	Brown	Turkmenistan Relationship building (Aşğabat), President Saparmurat Niyazov (1940–2006)	Tekesiñ mausoleum	1993
[7]	[8]	20 manats	139 x 69 mm	Blue and white	National library (Aşğabat), President Saparmurat Niyazov	Astanababa mausoleum	1993 1995
[9]	[10]	50 manats	144 x 72 mm	Orange and brown	Soviet Honor monument, President Saparmurat Niyazov	Anew mosque	1993 1995
[11]	[12]	100 manats	150 x 75 mm	Blue and orange	Prezident Köşgi (President's Palace, Aşğabat), President Saparmurat Niyazov	Sultan Sanjariń mausoleum	1993 1995
[13]	[14]	500 manats	156 x 78 mm	Red and violet	National theatre (Aşğabat), President Saparmurat Niyazov	Törebeg Hanymyń mausoleum	1993 1995
[15]	[16]	1,000 manats	156 x 78 mm	Green and red	Prezident Köşgi (President's Palace, Aşğabat), President Saparmurat Niyazov	National emblem of Turkmenistan	1995
[17]	[18]	5,000 manats	156 x 78 mm	Violet	Prezident Köşgi (President's Palace, Aşğabat), President Saparmurat Niyazov	National emblem of Turkmenistan	1996
[19]	[20]	10,000 manats	156 x 78 mm	Blue and brown	Prezident Köşgi (President's Palace, Aşğabat), President Saparmurat Niyazov	National emblem of Turkmenistan	1996 1999 2000
[21]	[22]				Türkmenbaşi Köşgi (Turkmenbashi's Palace, Aşğabat), President Saparmurat Niyazov	Saparmurat Haji mosque	1998 1999
[23]	[24]					Neutrality Monument, Ruhyýet Palace, Aşğabat	2000
[25]	[26]			Light brown		Monument of Independence and Peace, Aşğabat	2003 2005

Second Manat Banknotes (2009-Present)

After the first manat lost a lot of its value due to very high inflation, a new manat was created. This new manat had a fixed exchange rate. One new manat was equal to 5,000 old manats.

The new banknotes come in values of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 500 manats. The 500 manat note is the only one that shows a picture of the former leader, Saparmurat Niyazov. This was part of an effort by the government to change how the former leader was viewed. The 500 manat note has not been put into use yet.

The other banknotes show pictures of famous buildings in Ashgabat. They also feature important historical figures like Ahmed Sanjar, Oghuz Khan, and Magtymguly Pyragy.

Banknotes of the second manat
Image		Value	Size	Main color		What it looks like			Date of			Ref.
Front	Back	Value	Size	Main color		Front	Back	Watermark	printing	issue	withdrawal	Ref.
		1 manat	120 × 60 mm		Green and orange	Emblem of Turkmenistan, Togrul Beg Türkmen	Turkmenistan Cultural Centre, Ashgabat	Togrul Beg Türkmen, crescent moon and five stars from the flag, value	2009 2012 2014	1 January 2009	Still used
						Same as above, with the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games logo	Ashgabat International Airport, TurkmenSat 1		2017	17 September 2017
						Same as above, with the 25th anniversary of neutrality logo	Turkmenbashi International Seaport, TurkmenSat 1		2020	12 December 2020
		5 manat	126 × 63 mm		Brown	Emblem of Turkmenistan, Soltan Sanjar Türkmen	Independence and Neutrality Monuments, Ashgabat	Soltan Sanjar Türkmen, crescent moon and five stars from the flag, value	2009 2012	1 January 2009	Still used
						Same as above, with the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games logo	Ashgabat Velodrome		2017	17 September 2017
						Same as above, with the 25th anniversary of neutrality logo	Independence and Neutrality Monuments, Ashgabat		2020	12 December 2020
		10 manat	132 × 66 mm		Red	Emblem of Turkmenistan, Magtymguly Pyragy	Central Bank building, Ashgabat	Magtymguly Pyragy, crescent moon and five stars from the flag, value	2009 2012	1 January 2009	Still used
						Same as above, with the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games logo	Martial Arts Arena, Ashgabat		2017	17 September 2017
						Same as above, with the 25th anniversary of neutrality logo	Central Bank building, Ashgabat		2020	12 December 2020
		20 manat	138 × 69 mm		Purple	Emblem of Turkmenistan, Görogly Beg Türkmen	Rukhyet Palace, Ashgabat	Görogly Beg Türkmen, crescent moon and five stars from the flag, value	2009 2012	1 January 2009	Still used
						Same as above, with the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games logo	Main Indoor Arena, Ashgabat		2017	17 September 2017
						Same as above, with the 25th anniversary of neutrality logo	Rukhyet Palace, Ashgabat		2020	12 December 2020
		50 manat	144 × 72 mm		Green	Emblem of Turkmenistan, Gorgut Ata Türkmen	Assembly of Turkmenistan building, Ashgabat	Gorgut Ata Türkmen, crescent moon and five stars from the flag, value	2009 2014	1 January 2009	Still used
						Same as above, with the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games logo	Indoor Athletics Arena, Ashgabat		2017	17 September 2017
						Same as above, with the 25th anniversary of neutrality logo	Assembly of Turkmenistan building, Ashgabat		2020	12 December 2020
		100 manat	150 × 75 mm		Blue	Emblem of Turkmenistan, Oguz Khan Türkmen	Oguzhan Presidential Palace, Ashgabat	Oguz Khan Türkmen, crescent moon and five stars from the flag, value	2009 2014	1 January 2009	Still used
						Same as above, with the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games logo	Olympic Stadium, Ashgabat		2017	17 September 2017
						Same as above, with the 25th anniversary of neutrality logo	Oguzhan Presidential Palace, Ashgabat		2020	12 December 2020
		500 manat	156 × 78 mm		Orange	Emblem of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov	Türkmenbaşy Ruhy Mosque, Gypjak	Saparmurat Niyazov, crescent moon and five stars from the flag, value	2009	Never issued
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Manat Exchange Rates

The value of the manat compared to the United States dollar has changed over time:

Before April 2009: US$1 was worth 1.04 manat.
From April 2009 to January 2015: US$1 was worth 2.85 manats.
From January 2015 onwards: US$1 is worth 3.5 manats.

There is also a "black market" for exchanging money in Turkmenistan. This is because official cash exchanges are not allowed by law. On this unofficial market, the exchange rate can be very different. For example, in April 2021, US$1 was worth about 40–41 manats on the black market.

Current TMT exchange rates
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Turkmenistani manat facts for kids

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