Algerian dinar

Algerian dinar
دينار جزائري  (Arabic) Dinar Adzayri (Berber) Menkuc Adzayri (Berber) Dinar algérien (French)
ISO 4217
Code	DZD
Denominations
Subunit
​1⁄100	santeem (defunct)
Symbol	دج (Arabic) or DA (Latin)
Banknotes
Freq. used	200, 500, 1000 dinars
Rarely used	100, 2000 dinars
Coins
Freq. used	5, 20, 50 dinars
Rarely used	​1⁄4, ​1⁄2, 1, 2, 10, 100 dinars
Demographics
User(s)	Algeria  Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Issuance
Central bank	Bank of Algeria
Website	www.bank-of-algeria.dz
Valuation
Inflation	4.1%
Source	The World Factbook, 2009 est.

The dinar (Arabic: دينار‎, Berber language: Dinar or Menkuc, French 'Dinar'; sign: DA; code: DZD) is the monetary currency of Algeria and it is subdivided into 100 centimes. Centimes are now obsolete due to their extremely low value.

Etymology

The name "dinar" is ultimately derived from the Roman denarius.^[1] The santeem come from French "centime", since Algeria was under French occupation from 1830 to 1962

History

The dinar was introduced on 1 April 1964, replacing the Algerian new franc at par.

Argotic counting system

The masses never use the dinar as such, but the frank (officially the centime or 1/100 Dinar) and the doro (5/100). In traditional selling places such as the vegetable market or in the case of street vendors, prices are displayed in frank, in more modern shops the prices are displayed in dinars but the frank is used orally.

From 1 to 4 centimes, the frank is used, examples : frank (1 centime), 2 frank (2 centimes).

From 5 centimes up to 5 Dinars, the doro is used examples: 5 centimes : 1 doros, 10 centimes : 2 doros, 50 centimes: 10 doros, 1 Dinar : 20 doros (alternatively 100 frank), 1.5 Dinar : 30 doros, 2 Dinars: 40 doros (alternatively 200 frank). The usage of the doro tends to disappear since coins below 5 dinars are rarely available nowadays.

From 10 dinars upward we switch back to the frank, examples: 10 dinars: 1000 franks, 20 dinars : 2000 franks.

From 50 dinars upward, the word frank is omitted. Examples: 50 dinars: 5,000; 200 dinars: 20,000; 1,000 dinars: 100,000; 10,000 dinars: 1 million; 500,000 dinars: 50 million; 10,000,000 dinars: 1 billion.

Coins

In 1964, coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 santeem, and 1 dinar were introduced, with the 1, 2 and 5 santeem struck in aluminium, the 10, 20 and 50 santeem in aluminium bronze and the 1 dinar in cupro-nickel. The obverses showed the emblem of Algeria, while the reverses carried the values in Eastern Arabic numerals. In later decades, coins were issued sporadically with various commemorative subjects. However, the 1 and 2 santeem were not struck again, whilst the 5, 10 and 20 santeem were last struck in the 1980s.

In 1992, a new series of coins was introduced consisting of ​¹⁄₄, ​¹⁄₂, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dinars. A 200 dinar bi-metallic coin was issued in 2012 to commemorate Algeria's 50th anniversary of independence.^[2] The 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 dinar coins are bimetallic.

Coins in general circulation are 5 dinars and higher. Following the massive inflation which accompanied the slow transition to a more capitalist economy during the late 1990s, the santeem and fractional dinar coins have dropped out of general circulation, whilst the 1 and 2 dinar coins are rarely used, as prices are rounded to the nearest 5 dinars. Nonetheless, prices are typically quoted in santeem in everyday speech; thus a price of 100 dinars is read as عشر الاف ("ten thousand").

• 
  2 santeem, minted in 1964
• 
  5 santeem, minted in 1974
• 
  10 santeem, minted in 1984, a palm tree
• 
  20 santeem, minted in 1972, an overflowing cornucopia depicting the theme of agricultural revolution
• 
  20 santeem, minted in 1975, a ram(?)
• 
  50 santeem, minted in 1975, "The 30th remembering" in Arabic and commemorating the French Algerian Clash
• 
  1 dinar, minted in 1972, wheat, two hands (peace), and a tractor in foreground
• 
  5 dinar, minted in 1972, Wheat and an petroleum-extractor in the background and commemorating the 10th anniversary of independence
• 
  5 dinar, minted in 1974, an Algerian soldier and commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Revolution
• 
  10 dinar, minted since 1979, "Bank of Algeria" in Arabic
• 
  Current 20 and 50 dinar and obsolete 5 and 10 dinar coins

Banknotes

The first series of dinar banknotes issued in 1964 consisted of banknotes in denominations of 5-, 10-, 50- and 100 dinars. In 1970, 500 dinar banknotes were added, followed by 1000 dinars in 1992.

Third series
Image		Value	Main Colour	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue
		10 DA	Green	Diesel passenger train	Mountain village	2 December 1983
		20 DA	Red		Handcrafts and tower	2 January 1983
		50 DA	Green	Shepherd with flock	Farmers on a tractor	1 November 1977
		100 DA	Blue	Village with minarets	Man working with plants	1 November 1981 8 June 1982
		200 DA	Brown	Place of the Martyrs, Algiers	One of the various bridges of Constantine	23 March 1983
Fourth series
		100 DA	Blue	Charging Arab horse riders with sabres in a seal, and Algerian navy in a battle	Pre-colonial invasion: Battle of El Harrach (1775) victory of the Algerian horseriders over the invading Spanish.	21 May 1992	1996
		200 DA	Reddish Brown	Decorative Koranic motifs and symbols, mosque, olive and fig branches	Period Islam Introduced: Traditional Koranic school and Kalam
		500 DA	Violet and pink	Numidian Period: Battle on elephants between Numidians and invading Romans	Romans fighting, a gasing in Tipaza, a hot waterfall in Hammam Debagh, Guelma Province (?)	21 May 1992 10 June 1998	1996 2000
		1000 DA	White and brown	Prehistory of Algeria: A buffalo, paintings at Tassili n'Ajjer	More paintings from the Tassili, and the Hoggar (?)	21 May 1992 10 June 1998	1995 2000
		2000 DA	Blue and green	University professor lecturing students in amphitheatre, satellite, double-helix DNA strand, three researchers in scientific laboratory with microscope and beakers	Wheat, palm tree, body of water, urban high-rise buildings, olive tree	2011 2011	2011 2011
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

The 100 dinar note is being replaced by coins. 200, 500, and 1000 dinar notes are in circulation. The 1998 dated 500 and 1000 dinar notes have an additional vertical holographic strip on obverse.

See also

• Economy of Algeria

References

External links