Macedonian denar

The name denar comes from the name of the ancient Roman monetary unit, the denarius. The currency symbol is ден, the first three letters of its name.

The Republic of Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia on 8 September 1991. At the time the country was using the Yugoslav dinar. Secret preparations were started to introduce its own currency. In April 1992 the country was ready to acquire monetary independence from Yugoslavia. On 26 April the national bank was established and the denar declared the currency of the country. Notes ("value coupons") entered circulation the next day and on 30 April the Yugoslav dinar ceased to be legal tender.[2] The first denar was replaced at a rate of 100 to 1 by a new, permanent, denar consisting of notes and coins in May 1993.

No coins were issued for the first denar.

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

The notes were printed by the printing firm “11 October” in Prilep. Printing started on 15 January 1992. The difficulties of creating a new currency in secret are reflected in the notes themselves. The paper, which was purchased from Slovenia, proved to be of poor quality and lacking adequate security. Although denominated in denari, the name of the currency does not appear on the notes because they were printed prior to the adoption of the Law on the Monetary Unit. Likewise, the issuer appears as the National Bank of Republic of Macedonia, not its successor, the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia.[3]

The notes were designed by a young employee of the "11 October" printer. He had only one week to design them and not a very large budget. That is why the six lowest denominations are identical with the exception of their colours. They all feature 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.”

Banknotes of the first denar
Image		Value	Dimensions	Watermark	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue	withdrawal	lapse
		10 denari	143mm × ? mm	Design	Women gathering tobacco	Monument Makedonium in Kruševo	1992	27 April 1992	10 May 1993[4]	?
		25 denari	143mm × ? mm
		50 denari*	143mm × ? mm						31 August 1993[4]
		100 denari	143mm × ? mm
		500 denari	143mm × ? mm
		1000 denari	143mm × ? mm						30 November 1993[4]
		5000 denari	143mm × ? mm		Monument Makedonium in Kruševo	Girl in front of a computer
		10,000 denari	143mm × ? mm		Panorama of the church St. Sofia, Ohrid	Men dancing and the monument Makedonium in Kruševo
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table. After 10 May 1993 these banknotes remained in circulation at 1/100 of their nominal value.[4]

The denar was introduced with a fixed exchange rate against the German Mark of 360 denars to the mark.[2]

In May 1993, coins for the second denar were introduced in denominations of 50 deni, 1, 2, and 5 denari. The initial design was performed by Dimche Boshkoski and Snezhana Atanasova. 10 and 50 denari coins were introduced in November 2008. The 50 deni coin was withdrawn in 2013; due to its low mintage (it was only struck in 1993) it was practically never seen in circulation.[5]

Since 1996 a large number of commemorative coins for collectors has been issued. A listing can be found on the National Bank of Macedonia website.[6]

Coins are minted at the Suvenir factory in Samokov, a village near Makedonski Brod.

Coins of the denar (1993–present)[7]
Image	Value	Technical parameters			Description			Date of
		Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	minting	issue	withdrawal	lapse
	50 deni	21.5 mm	4.1g	CuZn15	Plain	Value, Stylized horizont with a 16-ray sun	РЕПУБЛИКА МАКЕДОНИЈА, circular; year in the lower central field. Flying seagull	1993	10 May 1993	1 January 2013[8]	Indefinitely*
	1 denar	23.80 mm	5.1 g	CuNi3Zn17			РЕПУБЛИКА МАКЕДОНИЈА, circular; year in the lower central field. Šarplaninec shepherd dog	1993 1997 2001 2006 2008 2014 2016		Current
	2 denari	25.50 mm	6.2 g				РЕПУБЛИКА МАКЕДОНИЈА, circular; year in the lower central field. Ohrid trout (Salmo letnica).	1993 1997 2001 2006 2008 2018
	5 denari	27.5 mm	7.2 g				РЕПУБЛИКА МАКЕДОНИЈА, circular; year in the lower central field. Balkan lynx (Lynx lynx balcanicus).	1993 1997 2001 2006 2008
	10 denari	24.5 mm	6.6 g	Cu70Ni12Zn18	Plain	Value, Stylized horizont with a 16-ray sun	Peacock, floor mosaic from Stobi from the 6th century AD, detail presented on the banknote of 10 Denari	2008 2017	15 November 2008	Current
	50 denari	26.5 mm	7.7 g	Cu62Ni18Zn20			Archangel Gabriel, fresco from the Church of St. George, Kurbinovo - 12th century, detail presented on the banknote of 50 Denari	2008
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table. Until 1 April 2013, 50 deni coins could be exchanged at any Macedonian bank. From the 1 April onwards only the National Bank will exchange them. No deadline has been set for this.

In 1995 circulation coins (valued 1, 2, and 5 denari) were struck in honor of the United Nations F.A.O programme.

In 1993, the new denar was issued in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 denari. The 20 denari was only issued in this first series of notes. In 1996, 1000 and 5000 denari notes were added. In 2016, 200 and 2000 denari notes were issued, while the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia began withdrawing the 5000 denari banknote from circulation as part of the National Bank's plans to re-balance the current structure of the notes in circulation. In 2017, the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia unveiled its current banknotes, 10 and 50 denari, printed as polymer banknotes, and were issued into circulation on May 15.

1993 series (Issued October 1993)
		10 denari	blue	The monument Makedonium in Kruševo	Panorama of Kruševo
		20 denari	brown-dark red	Daut-Pasha Bath in Skopje	Clock tower in Skopje
		50 denari	red	The Monastery of St. Pantelejmon in Skopje	The old National Bank of Macedonia building in Skopje
		100 denari	brown	The church of St. Sofia in Ohrid	National Museum building in Ohrid
		500 denari	brown-dark green	Monastery of St. Jovan Caneo in Ohrid	Samuil's Fortress in Ohrid
1996 series
Obverse	Reverse	Value	Colour	Obverse	Reverse
		10 denari	lilac	The Egyptian goddess Isis (Izida, 2nd century BC), Ohrid; gold earring (4th century BC), v. Beranci, Bitola.	Mosaic in Stobi (4th-5th century).
		50 denari	blue	Fresco in the church St. Pantelejmon, Nerezi; Follis coin.	Arhangel Gavril in the church St. Ǵorǵi, Kurbinovo.
		100 denari	lilac-brown	Skopje from engraving by Jacobus Harevin	View of Skopje from an Albanian house
100px		500 denari	red-brown	Gold mask, v. Trebeništa, Ohrid (6th century BC)	Flower of poppy
		1000 denari	brown	Madonna Episkepis, icon from the church of St. Vrači, Ohrid, 14th century	Gregory's gallery (14th century), church of St. Sofia, Ohrid
		5000 denari	red-brown-green	Bronze figure of Maenad (6th century BC), Tetovo.	Dog and tree, mosaic, Heraclea Lyncestis (5th-6th century AD), Bitola.
Upgrade of the 1996 series
Obverse	Reverse	Value	Colour	Obverse	Reverse
		500 denari	red-brown	Gold mask, v. Trebeništa, Ohrid (6th century BC)	Flower of poppy.
		1000 denari	brown	Madonna Episkepis, icon from the church St. Vrači, Ohrid, 14th century	Gregory's gallery (14th century), church St. Sofia, Ohrid
2014 series (Issued December 2016)
		200 denari		Early medieval bronze fibula (found near Prilep); Relief of the Old Testament Psalm 41 (terracotta icon from Vinica)	Artistic elements on the façade of Colorful Mosque (Šarena Džamija, Alaca Cami), Tetovo; Marble tiles with floral designs of Isaak Beg Mosque (Isak Džamija), Bitola
		2000 denari		Bronze artifact in the form of cup poppy (discovered in Suva Reka, Gevgelija); Macedonian bridal dress from Prilep	Decoration on the inside of a gilded bowl (16th century), "Source of Life", peacocks
2018 "Polymer Series" (Issued March 2018)
		10 denari	lilac	The Egyptian goddess Isis (Izida, 2nd century BC), Ohrid; gold earring (4th century BC), v. Beranci, Bitola. Mosaic in Stobi (4th-5th century).	Mosaic in Stobi (4th-5th century).
		50 denari	blue	Fresco in the church St. Pantelejmon, Nerezi; Follis coin.	Arhangel Gavril in the church St. Ǵorǵi, Kurbinovo.