Macedonian denar
| Macedonian denar | |
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| front | back |
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| 1 Macedonian denar (1993) | |
The Macedonian denar (MKD), split into 100 deni, is the official currency of the Republic of Macedonia. The currency was introduced on April 26 1992 and at that time was equivalent to the Yugoslav dinar. On May 5 1993 the currency was reformed, with one new denar (MKD) being equal to 100 old denars (MKN). The denominations are split into notes of 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000, and 5000 denars and coins of 1, 2, and 5 denars and 50 deni. The name denar comes from the name of the ancient Roman monetary unit, the denarius.
The Republic of Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia on September 17 1991. According to the New York Times, a version of the new country's currency began to appear in January of 1992[1]. The bills circulating contained an image of Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece and part of the Greek area named Macedonia. Prominent in the image was the White Tower of Thessaloniki, an historic landmark. The bills prompted "outrage in Athens and... in the capital of Greek Macedonia [Thessaloniki]"[1]. The bills were never used by the government of the Republic of Macedonia.
As of 2002, Vevcani, a village in the southwestern region of the Republic of Macedonia and self-styled "independent Republic", was issuing its own money, the licnik, as a souvenir. The money is clearly labelled as "specimen" and was never intended to be used as official, legal currency.[2]
External links
- Images of banknotes and coins at the website of National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia
- Ministry of Finance website
- Old and New Banknotes
Notes and references
- ^ Simons, Marlise, "As Republic Flexes, Greeks Tense Up", New York Times, February 3, 1992.
- ^ "Macedonia Tolerates a 'Republic' in Its Midst", Associated Press, January 6, 2002.
