1.
Republic of Artsakh
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Nagorno-Karabakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh, is an unrecognised republic in the South Caucasus. The region is considered by the UN to be part of Azerbaijan, the dispute was largely shelved after the Soviet Union established control over the area and created the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast within the Azerbaijan SSR in 1923. During the fall of the Soviet Union, the region re-emerged as a source of dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in 1991, a referendum held in the NKAO and the neighbouring Shahumian region resulted in a declaration of independence. Large-scale ethnic conflict led to the 1991–1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War, which ended with a ceasefire that left the current borders, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is a semi-presidential democracy with a unicameral legislature. Its reliance on Armenia means that in many ways it functions de facto as part of Armenia, the country is very mountainous, averaging 1,097 metres above sea level. The population is predominantly Christian, most being affiliated with the Armenian Apostolic Church, several historical monasteries are popular with tourists, mostly from the Armenian diaspora, as most travel can take place only between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh is a democracy, whereby the executive power resides with both the President and the Prime Minister. The president is elected for a maximum of two-consecutive five-year terms. The current President is Bako Sahakyan, in the most recent presidential elections, held on 19 July 2012, Sahakyan was reelected to a second term. The President appoints a potential Prime Minister who is approved by a majority vote in the National Assembly. The National Assembly is a unicameral legislature and it has 33 members who are elected for 5-year terms. Three organisations have members in the parliament, the Democratic Party of Artsakh has 18 members, Free Motherland has 8 members, Nagorno-Karabakh is heavily dependent on Armenia, and in many ways de facto functions and is administered as part of Armenia. On 3 November 2006, the then-President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Arkadi Ghukasyan and it was held on 10 December of the same year and voters overwhelmingly approved the new constitution. According to official results, with a turnout of 87. 2%. The First article of the document describes the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic as a sovereign, more than 100 non-governmental international observers and journalists who monitored the poll evaluated it positively, stating that it was held to a high international standard. Secretary General of the Council of Europe Terry Davis asserted that the poll will not be recognized, and is therefore of no consequence. The outcome was also criticised by Turkey, which traditionally supports Azerbaijan because of common ethnic Turkic roots, another referendum was held on 20 February 2017, with a 87. 6% vote in favour on a 76% turnout for instituting a new constitution. The new name implies a claim to the areas controlled beyond the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, the referendum is seen as a response to the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes
2.
Armenian dram
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The dram is the monetary unit of Armenia. It is subdivided into 100 luma, the word dram translates into English as money and is cognate with the Greek drachma and the Arabic dirham. The first instance of a currency was in the period from 1199 to 1375. On 21 September 1991, a referendum proclaimed Armenia as an independent republic from the Soviet Union. The Central Bank of Armenia, established on 27 March 1993, was given the right of issuing the national currency. In the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union attempts were made to maintain a common currency among CIS states, however it soon became clear that maintaining a currency union in the unstable political and economical circumstances of the post-Soviet states would be very difficult. The rublezone effectively collapsed with the monetary reform in Russia,1993. As result the states that were still participating were pushed out, Armenia was one of the last countries to do so when it introduced the dram on 22 November 1993. In 1995 the currency sign for the Armenian dram was designed. The Armenian dram sign is the sign of the Armenian dram. In Unicode, it is encoded at U+058F ֏ ARMENIAN DRAM SIGN, after its proclamation of independence, Armenia put into circulation its own national currency – Armenian Dram, the usage of which revealed the necessity for a monetary sign. As the result of business practice and the unique pattern of Armenian letters the shape of the sign. Since that time and until the endorsement of the sign a number of artists. Now the Sign is present in the Armenian standard for the characters and symbols. The Armenian dram is also used in the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, a separate currency, the Nagorno-Karabakh dram, which circulates together with the Armenian dram was introduced during 2005. Coins and banknotes ranging in nominal values from 50 luma to 10 dram were issued, officially the Nagorno-Karabakh dram is legal tender in both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. In practice it is mostly sold as souvenirs due to the low nominal values of the coins. In 1994, a first series of coins was introduced in denominations of 10,20 and 50 luma,1,3,5 and 10 dram. In 2003 and 2004, a series consisting of 10,20,50,100,200 and 500 dram coins was introduced to replace the first series
3.
Central bank
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A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages a states currency, money supply, and interest rates. Central banks also usually oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries, Central banks in most developed nations are institutionally designed to be independent from political interference. Still, limited control by the executive and legislative bodies usually exists, prior to the 17th century most money was commodity money, typically gold or silver. However, promises to pay were widely circulated and accepted as value at least five hundred years earlier in both Europe and Asia. The Song dynasty was the first to issue generally circulating paper currency, in 1455, in an effort to control inflation, the succeeding Ming Dynasty ended the use of paper money and closed much of Chinese trade. The Bank of Amsterdam, established in the Dutch Republic in 1609, is considered to be the forerunner to modern central banks. The Wisselbanks innovations helped lay the foundations for the birth and development of the banking system that now plays a vital role in the worlds economy. Along with a number of local banks, it performed many functions of a central banking system. Lucien Gillard calls it the European guilder, and Adam Smith devotes many pages to explaining how the bank guilder works, the model of the Wisselbank as a state bank was adapted throughout Europe, including the Bank of Sweden and the Bank of England. Established by Dutch-Latvian Johan Palmstruch in 1668, Sveriges Riksbank is often considered by many as the worlds oldest central bank, the lenders would give the government cash and also issue notes against the government bonds, which could be lent again. A Royal Charter was granted on 27 July through the passage of the Tonnage Act 1694, the bank was given exclusive possession of the governments balances, and was the only limited-liability corporation allowed to issue banknotes. The £1. 2M was raised in 12 days, half of this was used to rebuild the Navy and these modern central banking functions evolved slowly through the 18th and 19th centuries. The currency crisis of 1797, caused by panicked depositors withdrawing from the Bank led to the government suspending convertibility of notes into specie payment. The bank was accused by the bullionists of causing the exchange rate to fall from over issuing banknotes. Nevertheless, it was clear that the Bank was being treated as an organ of the state, henry Thornton, a merchant banker and monetary theorist has been described as the father of the modern central bank. An opponent of the real bills doctrine, he was a defender of the bullionist position, thorntons process of monetary expansion anticipated the theories of Knut Wicksell regarding the cumulative process which restates the Quantity Theory in a theoretically coherent form. Until the mid-nineteenth century, commercial banks were able to issue their own banknotes, many consider the origins of the central bank to lie with the passage of the Bank Charter Act of 1844. Under this law, authorisation to issue new banknotes was restricted to the Bank of England, at the same time, the Bank of England was restricted to issue new banknotes only if they were 100% backed by gold or up to £14 million in government debt
4.
Fixed exchange-rate system
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There are benefits and risks to using a fixed exchange rate. In doing so, the rate between the currency and its peg does not change based on market conditions, the way floating currencies do. A fixed exchange-rate system can also be used as a means to control the behavior of a currency, however, in doing so, the pegged currency is then controlled by its reference value. In other words, a currency is dependent on its reference value to dictate how its current worth is defined at any given time. The central bank provides the assets and/or the foreign currency or currencies which are needed in order to any payments imbalances. In the 21st century, the associated with large economies typically do not fix or peg exchange rates to other currencies. The last large economy to use a fixed exchange system was the Peoples Republic of China which, in July 2005. The European Exchange Rate Mechanism is also used on a basis to establish a final conversion rate against the Euro from the local currencies of countries joining the Eurozone. The gold standard or gold standard of fixed exchange rates prevailed from about 1870 to 1914. The period between the two wars was transitory, with the Bretton Woods system emerging as the new fixed exchange rate regime in the aftermath of World War II. It was formed with an intent to rebuild war-ravaged nations after World War II through a series of currency stabilization programs, the early 1970s saw the breakdown of the system and its replacement by a mixture of fluctuating and fixed exchange rates. Timeline of the exchange rate system, The earliest establishment of a gold standard was in the United Kingdom in 1821 followed by Australia in 1852. Under this system, the value of all currencies was denominated in terms of gold with central banks ready to buy. Each central bank maintained gold reserves as their official reserve asset, for example, during the “classical” gold standard period, the U. S. dollar was defined as 0.048 troy oz. of pure gold. Following the Second World War, the Bretton Woods system replaced gold with the U. S. dollar as the reserve asset. The regime intended to combine binding legal obligations with multilateral decision-making through the International Monetary Fund, the rules of this system were set forth in the articles of agreement of the IMF and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. S. Dollar and to exchange rates within 1% of parity by intervening in their foreign exchange markets. In December 1971, the Smithsonian Agreement paved the way for the increase in the value of the price of gold from US$35.50 to US$38 an ounce
5.
Armenian language
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The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenians. Like Hellenic Greek, it has its own branch in the language tree. It is the language of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. It has historically been spoken throughout the Armenian Highlands and today is spoken in the Armenian diaspora. Armenian has its own script, the Armenian alphabet, introduced in 405 AD by Mesrop Mashtots. Armenian is an independent branch of the Indo-European languages and it is of interest to linguists for its distinctive phonological developments within that family. Armenian exhibits more satemization than centumization, although it is not classified as belonging to either of these subgroups, Armenia was a monolingual country by the 2nd century BC at the latest. Its language has a literary history, with a 5th-century Bible translation as its oldest surviving text. Its vocabulary has been influenced by Western Middle Iranian languages, particularly Parthian, and to an extent by Greek, Persian. There are two standardized modern literary forms, Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian, with which most contemporary dialects are mutually intelligible and he is also credited by some with the creation of the Caucasian Albanian alphabet. In The Anabasis, Xenophon describes many aspects of Armenian village life and he relates that the Armenian people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians. W. M. However, unlike shared innovations, the retention of archaisms is not considered conclusive evidence of a period of common isolated development. Some of the terms he gives admittedly have an Akkadian or Sumerian provenance, loan words from Iranian languages, along with the other ancient accounts such as that of Xenophon above, initially led linguists to erroneously classify Armenian as an Iranian language. Scholars such as Paul de Lagarde and F. Müller believed that the similarities between the two meant that Iranian and Armenian were the same language. The distinctness of Armenian was recognized when philologist Heinrich Hübschmann used the method to distinguish two layers of Iranian loans from the older Armenian vocabulary. Meillets hypothesis became popular in the wake of his Esquisse, eric P. Hamp supports the Graeco-Armenian thesis, anticipating even a time when we should speak of Helleno-Armenian. Nevertheless, as Fortson comments, by the time we reach our earliest Armenian records in the 5th century AD, graeco--Aryan is a hypothetical clade within the Indo-European family, ancestral to the Greek language, the Armenian language, and the Indo-Iranian languages. Graeco-Aryan unity would have divided into Proto-Greek and Proto-Indo-Iranian by the mid-third millennium BC
6.
Currency
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A currency in the most specific use of the word refers to money in any form when in actual use or circulation as a medium of exchange, especially circulating banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money in common use, under this definition, US dollars, British pounds, Australian dollars, and European euros are examples of currency. These various currencies are recognized stores of value and are traded between nations in exchange markets, which determine the relative values of the different currencies. Currencies in this sense are defined by governments, and each type has limited boundaries of acceptance, other definitions of the term currency are discussed in their respective synonymous articles banknote, coin, and money. The latter definition, pertaining to the systems of nations, is the topic of this article. Currencies can be classified into two systems, fiat money and commodity money, depending on what guarantees the value. Some currencies are legal tender in certain jurisdictions, which means they cannot be refused as payment for debt. Others are simply traded for their economic value, digital currency has arisen with the popularity of computers and the Internet. Currency evolved from two basic innovations, both of which had occurred by 2000 BC, originally money was a form of receipt, representing grain stored in temple granaries in Sumer in ancient Mesopotamia, then Ancient Egypt. In this first stage of currency, metals were used as symbols to represent value stored in the form of commodities and this formed the basis of trade in the Fertile Crescent for over 1500 years. Trade could only reach as far as the credibility of that military and it is not known what was used as a currency for these exchanges, but it is thought that ox-hide shaped ingots of copper, produced in Cyprus, may have functioned as a currency. It is thought that the increase in piracy and raiding associated with the Bronze Age collapse, possibly produced by the Peoples of the Sea, brought the trading system of oxhide ingots to an end. In Africa, many forms of value store have been used, including beads, ingots, ivory, various forms of weapons, livestock, the manilla currency, the manilla rings of West Africa were one of the currencies used from the 15th century onwards to sell slaves. African currency is still notable for its variety, and in many various forms of barter still apply. These factors led to the metal itself being the store of value, first silver, now we have copper coins and other non-precious metals as coins. Metals were mined, weighed, and stamped into coins and this was to assure the individual taking the coin that he was getting a certain known weight of precious metal. Coins could be counterfeited, but they created a new unit of account. Most major economies using coinage had several tiers of coins, using a mix of copper, silver, gold coins were used for large purchases, payment of the military and backing of state activities, they were more often used as measures of account than physical coins
7.
Gandzasar monastery
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Gandzasar monastery is a 10th to 13th century Armenian monastery situated in the Mardakert district of de facto Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Gandzasar means treasure mountain or hilltop treasure in Armenian, the monastery holds relics believed to belong to St. John the Baptist and his father St Zechariah. Gandzasar is now the seat of the Archbishop of Artsakh appointed by the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the monastery at Gandzasar was first mentioned in the tenth century. Gandzasar monastery became the headquarters of the Catholicosate of Aghvank, also known as the Holy See of Gandzasar, in the 16th century it became subordinate to the Etchmiadzin catholicosate. Many of its catholicoi were members of the Hasan-Jalal Dawla dynasty, the complex is protected by high walls. Within the complex is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, the drum of its dome has exquisite bas-reliefs that depict the Crucifixion, Adam and Eve, and two ministers holding a model of the church above their heads as an offering to God. The bas-reliefs have been compared to the carvings of Aghtamar. Hovhannavank Monastery Harichavank Monastery Culture of Nagorno-Karabakh Yakobson, Anatoly L, “From the History of Medieval Armenian Architecture, the Monastery of Gandzasar, ” in, Studies in the History of Culture of the Peoples in the East. Gandzasar. com - Gandzasar Monastery, Nagorno Karabakh Republic Program about Gandzasar Monastery by Vem Radio
8.
Christian cross
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The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus, is the best-known symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix and to the general family of cross symbols. The basic forms of the cross are the Latin cross and the Greek cross, with variants used in heraldry. The cross-shaped sign, represented in its simplest form by a crossing of two lines at right angles, greatly predates the introduction of Christianity, in both East and West and it goes back to a very remote period of human civilization. It is supposed to have used not just for its ornamental value. It may have represented the apparatus used in kindling fire, and thus as the symbol of sacred fire or as a symbol of the sun, denoting its daily rotation. It has also interpreted as the mystic representation of lightning or of the god of the tempest, or the emblem of the Aryan pantheon. Another associated symbol is the cross used in ancient Egypt. It was often depicted in the hands of the goddess Sekhmet, Egyptian Christians adopted it as the emblem of the cross. Yet another Egyptian symbol is the nfr - meaning, beauty or perfect, in the Bronze Age a representation of the cross as conceived in Christian art appeared, and the form was popularised. The more precise characterization coincided with a general change in customs. The cross then came into use in forms on many objects, fibulas, cinctures, earthenware fragments. De Mortillet believed that use of the sign was not merely ornamental. In the proto-Etruscan cemetery of Golasecca every tomb has a vase with a cross engraved on it, true crosses of more or less artistic design have been found in Tiryns, at Mycenæ, in Crete, and on a fibula from Vulci. According to Swami Vivekananda the Christian cross is the Shivalinga converted into a cross, according to W. E. Vine, the cross was used by worshipers of Tammuz, an Ancient Near East deity of Babylonian origin who had the cross-shaped taw as his symbol. In which there was not only a straight and erected piece of Wood fixed in the Earth, but also a transverse Beam fastned unto that towards the top thereof. A symbol similar to the cross, the staurogram, was used to abbreviate the Greek word for cross in very early New Testament manuscripts such as P66, P45 and P75, the extensive adoption of the cross as Christian iconographic symbol arose from the 4th century. Another early depictions of the cross as a Christian symbol is the Alexamenos graffito. e, in his book De Corona, written in 204, Tertullian tells how it was already a tradition for Christians to trace repeatedly on their foreheads the sign of the cross
9.
John the Baptist
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John the Baptist, also known as John the Baptizer, was a Jewish itinerant preacher in the early first century AD. John is revered as a religious figure in Christianity, Islam, the Baháí Faith. He is called a prophet by all of these traditions, and is honoured as a saint in many Christian traditions, John used baptism as the central symbol or sacrament of his messianic movement. Most scholars agree that John baptized Jesus, scholars generally believe Jesus was a follower or disciple of John and several New Testament accounts report that some of Jesus early followers had previously been followers of John. John the Baptist is also mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus, according to the New Testament, John anticipated a messianic figure greater than himself. Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus, John is also identified with the prophet Elijah. John the Baptist is mentioned in all four canonical Gospels and the non-canonical Gospel of the Nazarenes, the Synoptic Gospels describe John baptising Jesus, in the Gospel of John it is implied in John 1, 32-34. The Gospel of Mark introduces John as a fulfilment of a prophecy from the Book of Isaiah about a messenger being sent ahead, John is described as wearing clothes of camels hair, living on locusts and wild honey. John proclaims baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin, and says another will come after him who will not baptize with water, Jesus comes to John, and is baptized by him in the river Jordan. The account describes how, as he emerges from the water, the heavens open, a voice from heaven then says, You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased. Later in the gospel there is an account of Johns death and it is introduced by an incident where the Tetrarch Herod Antipas, hearing stories about Jesus, imagines that this is John the Baptist raised from the dead. It then explains that John had rebuked Herod for marrying Herodias, Herodias demands his execution, but Herod, who liked to listen to John, is reluctant to do so because he fears him, knowing he is a righteous and holy man. The account then describes how Herods daughter Herodias dances before Herod, when the girl asks her mother what she should request, she is told to demand the head of John the Baptist. Reluctantly, Herod orders the beheading of John, and his head is delivered to her, at her request, Johns disciples take the body away and bury it in a tomb. There are a number of difficulties with this passage, the Gospel wrongly identifies Antipas as King and the ex-husband of Herodias is named as Philip, but he is known to have been called Herod. Although the wording clearly implies the girl was the daughter of Herodias, many texts describe her as Herods daughter, Herodias. Since these texts are early and significant and the reading is difficult, many see this as the original version, corrected in later versions and in Matthew. Josephus says that Herodias had a daughter by the name of Salome, scholars have speculated about the origins of the story
10.
Jesus
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In Christology, the Person of Christ refers to the study of the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ as they co-exist within one person. There is no discussion in the New Testament regarding the dual nature of the Person of Christ as both divine and human. Hence, since the days of Christianity theologians have debated various approaches to the understanding of these natures. In the period following the Apostolic Age, specific beliefs such as Arianism and Docetism were criticized. On the other end of the spectrum, Docetism argued that Jesus physical body was an illusion, docetic teachings were attacked by St. Ignatius of Antioch and were eventually abandoned by proto-orthodox Christians. However, after the First Council of Nicaea in 325 the Logos, historically in the Alexandrian school of christology, Jesus Christ is the eternal Logos paradoxically humanized in history, a divine Person who became enfleshed, uniting himself to the human nature. The views of these schools can be summarized as follows, Alexandria, Antioch, Logos assumes a specific human being The First Council of Ephesus in 431 debated a number of views regarding the Person of Christ. At the same gathering the council debated the doctrines of monophysitism or miaphysitism. The council rejected Nestorianism and adopted the term hypostatic union, referring to divine, the language used in the 431 declaration was further refined at the 451 Council of Chalcedon. However, the Chalcedon creed was not accepted by all Christians, because Saint Augustine died in 430 he did not participate in the Council of Ephesus in 431 or Chalcedon in 451, but his ideas had some impact on both councils. On the other hand, the major theological figure of the Middle Ages. The Third Council of Constantinople in 680 held that both divine and human wills exist in Jesus, with the divine will having precedence, leading and guiding the human will. John Calvin maintained that there was no element in the Person of Christ which could be separated from the person of The Word. Calvin also emphasized the importance of the Work of Christ in any attempt at understanding the Person of Christ, the study of the Person of Christ continued into the 20th century, with modern theologians such as Karl Rahner and Hans von Balthasar. Balthasar argued that the union of the human and divine natures of Christ was achieved not by the absorption of human attributes, thus in his view the divine nature of Christ was not affected by the human attributes and remained forever divine
11.
Dadivank
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Dadivank also Khutavank is an Armenian monastery in the Shahumian Region of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, de jure Kalbajar District in Armenia. It was built between the 9th and 13th century, the monastery was founded by St. Dadi, a disciple of Thaddeus the Apostle who spread Christianity in Eastern Armenia during the first century AD. However, The monastery was first mentioned in the 9th century, in June,2007, the grave of St. Dadi was discovered under the holy altar of the main church. The princes of Upper Khachen are also buried at Dadivank, under the churchs gavit, the Monastery belongs to the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and consists of the Cathedral church of St. Astvadzadzin, the chapel and a few other buildings. The main church has Armenian script engraved into its walls, in addition to several 13th century frescoes, the bas-relief on the south facade of the cathedral at Dadivank, built in 1214, shows the princess offering the church in memory of her sons. According to Paolo Cuneo, Dadivank is one of two Monasteries along with Gandzasar where bust motifs can be found, in 1994 the monastery was reopened and the reconstruction process began in 2004 with funding from Armenian-American businesswoman Edele Hovnanian, ending in 2005. The restoration efforts restored the Cathedral, along with a chapel which was restored by Edik Abrahamian, an Armenian from Tehran, Iran
12.
Karabakh carpet
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Karabakh carpet is one of four major regional groups of carpets made in Azerbaijan named after the Karabakh region, which comprises present Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent lowland territories. Karabakh carpet making were added to UNESCO’s Representative Masterpiece of Intangible Heritage as part of Azerbaijani Carpets, carpet-weaving was historically a traditional profession for the female population of Karabakh, including many Armenian families, though there were prominent Karabakh carpet weavers among men too. The oldest extant Armenian carpet from the region, referred to as Artsakh during the period, is from the village of Banants. At this time Shusha became the center of the Karabakh carpet-weaving, besides usual carpets, carpet bags and coverlets of different types were widely spread. These included pileless məfrəş, xurcun, heybə, çuval, çul, yəhər üstü, art historian Hravard Hakobyan notes that Artsakh carpets occupy a special place in the history of Armenian carpet-making. Common themes and patterns found on Armenian carpets were the depiction of dragons, the rug mentioned in the Kaptavan inscription is composed of three arches, covered with vegatative ornaments, and bears an artistic resemblance to the illuminated manuscripts produced in Artsakh. Karabakh carpets comprise 33 different compositions in total, some of them were partly borrowed from the Tabriz and Iranian carpet schools, some are completely original. The Karabakh or Qarabagh carpet school developed in two areas, in lowland and mountainous parts of Karabakh, the last one often and the most renowned one is often called “the Shusha carpet group”. Each village developed original design and ornaments and had specific characterization which distinguished them from one village to another, in lowlands carpet manufacturing was based in Jabrayil, Horadiz, Barda and Agdam. Karabakh was famous for its pileless carpets, starting with traditional Turkic Kilim it slowly evolved into different more elaborate types of such as shadda, zili, verni. High artistic taste is also for Karabakh jejims from the Lambaran village. Jejims were a popular material for house interiors and were used in Karabakh for producing pillows and pillowcases, tablecloths, curtains. Besides usual carpets, carpet bags and coverlets of different types were widely spread and these included pileless mafrash, khurdjun, heiba, chuval, chul, yahar ustu and other objects. At this time Shusha became the center of the Karabakh carpet-weaving. Karabakh and Shusha carpets have greatly influenced the Nakhchivan, some experts actually consider these schools to be sub-categories of the Karabakh carpet school. Shusha carpets also received awards in 1872 in Moscow Polytechnic Exhibition, some of the famous Karabakh carpets are presently kept in various museums of the world. A Karabakh silk carpet of the 16th or 17th century made in Barda is currently kept in Berlin in the Museum of Arts, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts holds a Shusha carpet of the 18th century. US Museum of Textiles possesses a Shusha carpet of the 18th century, called Afshan, a unique collection of Shusha and Karabakh carpets is currently kept in the State Museum of Carpet in Baku, Azerbaijan. Most of the collection in this museum was originally kept in Shusha Carpet Museum, in 1992 not long before the town’s occupation by the Armenian military forces, the Shusha museum’s director, arranged for 600 carpets to be evacuated from the town in army vehicles
13.
Economy of the Republic of Artsakh
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The economy of Nagorno-Karabakh is small, but rapidly growing. The war torn economy of Karabakh shows a quick and confident recovery. In 1999, the GDP figure was $59 million,80 percent down on the figure in Soviet times, Nagorno-Karabakhs GDP for 2010 is estimated at $1.6 billion. According to official estimates of the Nagorno-Karabakh Statistical Service, the GDP in current prices increased by 116% between 2001 and 2007, the Consumer Price Index increased only by 34% during this period, which implies a real growth of about 60% in GDP during the six years 2001-2007. In 2007, agriculture accounted for 16% of GDP, manufacturing industries 15%, construction 9%, the share of agriculture in GDP went down from 33% in 2002 to 16% in 2007, while the share of manufacturing and services increased correspondingly. The most investments are in telecoms, gold mining, diamond polishing, jewelry, in the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh was the largest per capita producer of grapes. Nagorno-Karabakh is known for its mulberry vodka and it is commercially produced and exported under the brand name Artsakh by the Artsakh-Alco Brandy Company in Askeran District. Up until recently Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was known to operate at least one power plant near Mardakert. The government has been planning to build a number of hydroelectric power plants — at a cost of $70–$80 million — that will supply both domestic needs and provide opportunities for export. In 2001 the republic imported 60 percent of its electricity from Armenia, on 12 April 2010 the prime ministers of NKR and Armenia inaugurated Trghe-1 - the first in series of long anticipated hydro-electric stations in Nagorno-Karabakh. The name of new electric energy company is Artsakh HEK”. The realization of the given energetic program will give the chance to produce additional 120 million kwt/h of the electric power, by 2012 this will almost completely satisfy the requirements of the republic for the electric power, which will rise by then to 300 million kwt/h. With these new power plants NKR hopes to not only self-sufficient in terms of its electricity production. One of Nagorno-Karabakhs most eye-catching pieces of infrastructure is the $15 million Goris-Stepanakert road and this is the main road that connects the region with Armenia and the rest of the world. Now the construction of the 168 km North-South highway at a cost of only $25 million, in recent years a Lebanese-funded phone operator company Karabakh Telecom was launched. Total profit from communication services has increased 12.8 percent since 2008, artsakhBank has been operational since 1996 and has branches in Stepanakert and throughout various locations in Nagorno-Karabakh. Some of the leading Armenian banks also have branches in Nagorno Karabakh, as of September 1,2010, the volume of deposits made AMD38,664.1 mln. which is 33. 1% more, as compared to the level of January 1,2010. As compared to January 1,2010, the volume of credits issued by banks increased by 28. 3%
14.
Pound sterling
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It is subdivided into 100 pence. A number of nations that do not use sterling also have called the pound. At various times, the sterling was commodity money or bank notes backed by silver or gold. The pound sterling is the worlds oldest currency still in use, the British Crown dependencies of Guernsey and Jersey produce their own local issues of sterling, the Guernsey pound and the Jersey pound. The pound sterling is also used in the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, the Bank of England is the central bank for the pound sterling, issuing its own coins and banknotes, and regulating issuance of banknotes by private banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Sterling is the fourth most-traded currency in the exchange market, after the United States dollar, the euro. Together with those three currencies it forms the basket of currencies which calculate the value of IMF special drawing rights, Sterling is also the third most-held reserve currency in global reserves. The full, official name, pound sterling, is used mainly in formal contexts, otherwise the term pound is normally used. The abbreviations ster. or stg. are sometimes used, the term British pound is commonly used in less formal contexts, although it is not an official name of the currency. The pound sterling is also referred to as cable amongst forex traders, the origins of this term are attributed to the fact that in the 1800s, the dollar/pound sterling exchange rate was transmitted via transatlantic cable. Forex brokers are sometimes referred to as cable dealers, as another established source notes, the compound expression was then derived, silver coins known as sterlings were issued in the Saxon kingdoms,240 of them being minted from a pound of silver. Hence, large payments came to be reckoned in pounds of sterlings, in 1260, Henry III granted them a charter of protection. And because the Leagues money was not frequently debased like that of England, English traders stipulated to be paid in pounds of the Easterlings, and land for their Kontor, the Steelyard of London, which by the 1340s was also called Easterlings Hall, or Esterlingeshalle. For further discussion of the etymology of sterling, see sterling silver, the currency sign for the pound sign is £, which is usually written with a single cross-bar, though a version with a double cross-bar is also sometimes seen. The ISO4217 currency code is GBP, occasionally, the abbreviation UKP is used but this is non-standard because the ISO3166 country code for the United Kingdom is GB. The Crown dependencies use their own codes, GGP, JEP, stocks are often traded in pence, so traders may refer to pence sterling, GBX, when listing stock prices. A common slang term for the pound sterling or pound is quid, since decimalisation in 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 pence. The symbol for the penny is p, hence an amount such as 50p properly pronounced fifty pence is more colloquially, quite often, pronounced fifty pee /fɪfti, pi and this also helped to distinguish between new and old pence amounts during the changeover to the decimal system
15.
Bulgarian lev
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The lev is the currency of Bulgaria. It is divided in 100 stotinki, in archaic Bulgarian the word lev meant lion, a word which in the modern language became Pringle. The lev was introduced as Bulgarias currency in 1881 with a equal to the French franc. The gold standard was suspended between 1899 and 1906 and suspended again in 1912, until 1916, Bulgarias silver and gold coins were issued to the same specifications as those of the Latin Monetary Union. Banknotes issued until 1928 were backed by gold or silver, in 1928, a new gold standard of 1 lev =10.86956 mg gold was established. During World War II, in 1940, the lev was pegged to the German Reichsmark at a rate of 32.75 leva =1 Reichsmark, with the Soviet occupation in September 1944, the lev was pegged to the Soviet ruble at 15 leva =1 ruble. A series of pegs to the U. S. dollar followed,120 leva =1 dollar in October 1945,286.50 leva in December 1945 and 143.25 leva in March 1947. No coins were issued after 1943, only banknotes were issued until the reform of 1952. Between 1881 and 1884, bronze 2,5 and 20 stotinki, gold 10 and 20 leva were issued in 1894. Bronze 1 stotinka were introduced in 1901, production of silver coins ceased in 1916, with zinc replacing cupro-nickel in the 5,10 and 20 stotinki in 1917. In 1923, aluminum 1 and 2 leva coins were introduced, followed by pieces in 1925. In 1930, cupro-nickel 5 and 10 leva and silver 20,50 and 100 leva were introduced, with coins issued until 1937. In 1940, cupro-nickel 20 and 50 leva were issued, followed, in 1941, in 1943, nickel-clad-steel 5,10 and 50 leva were struck. These were the last coins issued for this version of the lev, in 1885, the Bulgarian National Bank introduced notes for 20 and 50 gold leva, followed in 1887 by 100 gold leva and, in 1890, by 5 and 10 gold leva notes. In 1899,5,10 and 50 silver leva notes were issued, followed by 100 and 500 silver leva in 1906 and 1907,500 gold leva notes were also introduced in 1907. In 1916,1 and 2 silver leva and 1000 gold leva notes were introduced, followed by 2500 and 10,000 gold leva notes in 1919, in 1924,5000 leva notes were issued, the first to lack a metal designation. In 1928, a new series of notes was introduced which gave the denominations solely in leva, denominations introduced were 5,10,20,50,100,500,1000 and 5000 leva. These were followed in 1929 by 200 and 250 leva, in 1930, coins up to 100 leva replaced notes, although 20-lev notes were issued between 1943 and 1950
16.
Croatian kuna
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The kuna is the currency of Croatia, in use since 1994. It is subdivided into 100 lipa, the kuna is issued by the Croatian National Bank and the coins are minted by the Croatian Monetary Institute. The word kuna means marten in Croatian since it is based on the use of marten pelts as units of value in medieval trading, the word lipa means linden tree. During Roman times, in the provinces of upper and lower Pannonia, hence, the Croatian word marturina or tax, derived from the Latin word martus. The kuna was a unit in several Slavic states, most notably Kievan Rus. It was equal to 1⁄25 gryvna of silver and it has no relation to the various Slavic currencies named koruna which means crown. In the Middle Ages, many foreign monies were used in Croatia, between 1260 and 1380, Croatian Viceroys issued a marten-adorned silver coin called the banovac. However, the autonomy of Croatia within the Croatian-Hungarian Kingdom led to the gradual disappearance of that currency in the 14th century. In 1941, when the Ustaše regime formed the Independent State of Croatia, the modern kuna was introduced on May 30,1994, starting a transitional period from the Croatian dinar, ending on December 31,1994. The exchange rate between dinar and kuna was 1 kuna =1000 dinars, since then, Croatia has been in a system of de facto currency board with a fixed exchanged rate. The kuna was pegged to the German mark from the start, with the replacement of the mark by the euro, the kunas peg effectively switched to the euro. The transition to the new currency went smoothly and the controversy blew over. The self-proclaimed Serbian entity Republic of Serbian Krajina did not use the kuna or the Croatian dinar, instead, they issued their own Krajina dinar until the region was reintegrated into Croatia in 1995. A long-time policy of the Croatian National Bank has been to keep the fluctuations of the exchange rate against the euro within a relatively stable range. The country joined the European Union on 1 July 2013 and it plans to join the European Monetary System, the kuna is expected to be replaced by the euro, even though the initial time estimate of two to three years after joining the European Union proved too short. In 1994, coins were introduced in denominations of 1,2,5,10,20 and 50 lipa,1,2,5 and 25 kuna. The coins are issued in two versions, one with the name of the plant or animal in Croatian, the other with the name in Latin, overall more coins have been minted with Croatian names than with names in Latin. Due to their low value,1 and 2 lipa coins are rarely used, since 2009, these coins are no longer minted, but the Croatian National Bank has stated that it had no plans for withdrawing them
17.
Czech koruna
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The koruna is the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993, and in English it is sometimes referred to as Czech crown. The koruna is one of European Unions 11 currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to adopt the currency in the future. The official name in Czech is koruna česká, the ISO4217 code is CZK and the local acronym is Kč, which is placed after the numeric value. One koruna equals 100 haléřů, but haléře have been withdrawn, in 1892, the Austro-Hungarian krone replaced the Gulden, at the rate 1 Gulden =2 crowns. The name Krone was invented by the emperor, Franz Joseph I of Austria, after Austria-Hungary dissolved in 1918, the only successor state that kept the name of the currency, the crown, was Czechoslovakia. In the late 1920s, the Czechoslovak crown was the hardest currency in Europe, during the Second World War, the currency on the occupied Czech territory was artificially weakened. The Czechoslovak crown was restored after the war and it underwent a highly controversial monetary reform in 1953. The Czech koruna replaced the Czechoslovak koruna when it was introduced in 1993 after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia and it first consisted of overstamped 20,50,100,500, and 1000 Czechoslovak koruna banknotes, but a new series was properly introduced in 1993. In November 2013, the Czech National Bank has intervened to weaken the exchange rate of the koruna through a monetary stimulus in order to stop the currency from excessive strengthening, in late 2016, the CNB stated that the return to conventional monetary policy was planned for mid-2017. After high-than-expected inflation and other figures, the bank removed the floor on a special monetary meeting on April 6th,2017. Avoiding significant volatility, the koruna gradually strengthened 1. 55% on that day, the Czech Republic planned to adopt the euro in 2010, but its government suspended that plan indefinitely in 2005. Although the country is well positioned to adopt the euro. According to a survey conducted in April 2014, only 16% of the Czech population was in favour of replacing the koruna with euro. In 1993, coins were introduced in denominations of 10,20 and 50 haléřů,1,2,5,10,20 and 50 korun, in 2000, the 10 and 20 korun coins were minted with different obverses to commemorate the Millennium. In 1993 &1994 coins were minted in Winnipeg and Hamburg, all circulation coins were designed by Ladislav Kozak. Since 1997, sets for collectors are also issued yearly with proof quality coins, theres also a tradition of issuing commemorative coins – including silver and gold coins – for numismatic purposes. For a complete listing see, Commemorative coins of the Czech Republic, the first Czech banknotes issued on 8 February 1993 consisted of Czechoslovak notes with adhesive stamps affixed to them. Only the 100,500 and 1000 korun denominations were overstamped, each stamp bears a Roman and Arabic number identifying the denomination of the banknote to which it is affixed
18.
Danish krone
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The krone is the official currency of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, introduced on 1 January 1875. Both the ISO code DKK and currency sign kr. are in use, the former precedes the value. The currency is referred to as the Danish crown in English. Historically, krone coins have been minted in Denmark since the 17th century, one krone is subdivided into 100 øre, the name øre possibly deriving from Latin aureus meaning gold coin. Altogether there are eleven denominations of the krone, with the smallest being the 50 øre coin, formerly there were more øre coins, but those were discontinued due to inflation. The krone is pegged to the euro via the ERM II, the oldest known Danish coin is a penny struck AD 825–840, but the earliest systematic minting produced the so-called korsmønter or cross coins minted by Harald Bluetooth in the late 10th century. Organised minting in Denmark was introduced on a larger scale by Canute the Great in the 1020s, for almost 1,000 years, Danish kings – with a few exceptions – have issued coins with their name, monogram and/or portrait. Taxes were sometimes imposed via the coinage, e. g. by the substitution of coins handed in by new coins handed out with a lower silver content. Danish coinage was based on the Carolingian silver standard. Periodically, the value of the minted coins was reduced. This was mainly done to generate income for the monarch and/or the state, as a result of the debasement, the public started to lose trust in the respective coins. Danish currency was overhauled several times in attempts to restore public trust in the coins, in 1619 a new currency was introduced in Denmark, the krone. One krone had the value of 1 1/2 Danish Rigsdaler Species accounting for 96 Kroneskillinger, later for 144 common Skillings, until the late 18th century, the krone was a denomination equal to 8 mark, a subunit of the Danish rigsdaler. A new krone was introduced as the currency of Denmark in January 1875 and it replaced the rigsdaler at a rate of 2 kroner =1 rigsdaler. This placed the krone on the standard at a rate of 2480 kroner =1 kilogram fine gold. The latter part of the 18th century and much of the 19th century saw expanding economic activity, consequently, banknotes were increasingly used instead of coins. The introduction of the new krone was a result of the Scandinavian Monetary Union, the parties to the union were the three Scandinavian countries, where the name was krone in Denmark and Norway and krona in Sweden, a word which in all three languages literally means crown. The three currencies were on the standard, with the krone/krona defined as 1⁄2480 of a kilogram of pure gold
19.
Euro
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Outside of Europe, a number of overseas territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency. Additionally,210 million people worldwide as of 2013 use currencies pegged to the euro, the euro is the second largest reserve currency as well as the second most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar. The name euro was adopted on 16 December 1995 in Madrid. The euro was introduced to world markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999. While the euro dropped subsequently to US$0.8252 within two years, it has traded above the U. S. dollar since the end of 2002, peaking at US$1.6038 on 18 July 2008. In July 2012, the euro fell below US$1.21 for the first time in two years, following concerns raised over Greek debt and Spains troubled banking sector, as of 26 March 2017, the euro–dollar exchange rate stands at ~ US$1.07. The euro is managed and administered by the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank, as an independent central bank, the ECB has sole authority to set monetary policy. The Eurosystem participates in the printing, minting and distribution of notes and coins in all states. The 1992 Maastricht Treaty obliges most EU member states to adopt the euro upon meeting certain monetary and budgetary convergence criteria, all nations that have joined the EU since 1993 have pledged to adopt the euro in due course. Since 5 January 2002, the central banks and the ECB have issued euro banknotes on a joint basis. Euro banknotes do not show which central bank issued them, Eurosystem NCBs are required to accept euro banknotes put into circulation by other Eurosystem members and these banknotes are not repatriated. The ECB issues 8% of the value of banknotes issued by the Eurosystem. In practice, the ECBs banknotes are put into circulation by the NCBs and these liabilities carry interest at the main refinancing rate of the ECB. The euro is divided into 100 cents, in Community legislative acts the plural forms of euro and cent are spelled without the s, notwithstanding normal English usage. Otherwise, normal English plurals are used, with many local variations such as centime in France. All circulating coins have a side showing the denomination or value. Due to the plurality in the European Union, the Latin alphabet version of euro is used. For the denominations except the 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins, beginning in 2007 or 2008 the old map is being replaced by a map of Europe also showing countries outside the Union like Norway
20.
Gibraltar pound
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The Gibraltar pound is the currency of Gibraltar. It is pegged to – and exchangeable with – the British pound sterling at par value, the central bank controlling the GIP, with responsibility of minting coins and printing notes, is the Government of Gibraltar. Until 1872, the situation in Gibraltar was complicated, with a system based on the real being employed which encompassed British, Spanish. From 1825, the real was tied to the pound at the rate of 1 Spanish dollar to 4 shillings 4 pence, in 1872, however, the Spanish currency became the sole legal tender in Gibraltar. In 1898, the Spanish–American War made the Spanish peseta drop alarmingly, in 1898, the British pound was made sole legal tender, although the Spanish peseta continued in circulation until the Spanish Civil War. Since 1927, Gibraltar has issued its own banknotes and, since 1988, Gibraltar decimalised in 1971 at the same time as the UK, replacing the system of 1 pound =20 shillings =240 pence with one of 1 pound =100 pence. Although Gibraltar notes are denominated in sterling, they are not legal tender in the United Kingdom. Gibraltars coins are the weight, size and metal as British coins, although the designs are different. British coins and Bank of England notes circulate in Gibraltar and are universally accepted, in 1988, coins in denominations of 1,2,5,10,20 and 50 pence and 1 pound were introduced which bore specific designs for and the name of Gibraltar. They were the same sizes and compositions as the corresponding British coins, a new coin of 5 pounds was issued in 2010 with the inscription Elizabeth II · Queen of Gibraltar. This issue caused controversy in Spain, where the title of King of Gibraltar historically corresponds to the crown of Castile, the £2 coin has featured a new design every year since its introduction, as it depicts each of the 12 Labours of Hercules. In 2004 the Government of Gibraltar minted a new edition of its coins to commemorate the tercentenary of British Gibraltar, at the outbreak of World War I, Gibraltar was forced to issue banknotes to prevent paying out sterling or gold. These notes were issued under emergency legislation, Ordinance 10 of 1914. At first the typeset notes were signed by hand by Treasurer Greenwood, the notes bore the embossed stamp of the Anglo-Egyptian Bank Ltd. and circulated alongside British Territory notes. The 1914 notes were issued in denominations of 2 and 10 shillings,1,5 and 50 pounds, the 2 shilling and 50 pound notes were not continued when a new series of notes was introduced in 1927. The 10 shilling note was replaced by the 50 pence coin during the process of decimalization, in 1975,10 and 20 pound notes were introduced, followed by 50 pounds in 1986. The 1 pound note was discontinued in 1988, in 1995, a new series of notes was introduced which, for the first time, bore the words pounds sterling rather than just pounds. The government of Gibraltar introduced a new series of banknotes beginning with the 10 and 50 pound sterling notes issued on July 8,2010, on May 11,2011, the 5,20 and 100 pound sterling notes were issued
21.
Hungarian forint
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The forint is the currency of Hungary. It is divided into 100 fillér, although fillér coins are no longer in circulation, the introduction of the forint on 1 August 1946 was a crucial step of the post-World War II stabilization of the Hungarian economy, and the currency remained relatively stable until the 1980s. Transition to market economy in the early 1990s deteriorated the value of the forint, since 2001, inflation is single digit and the forint was declared fully convertible. As a member of the European Union, the long term aim of the Hungarian government may be to replace the forint with the euro, the forints name comes from the city of Florence, where golden coins were minted from 1252 called fiorino doro. In Hungary, florentinus, also a currency, was used from 1325 under Charles Robert. Between 1868 and 1892 the forint was the used in Hungarian for the currency of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was subdivided into 100 krajczár, the forint was reintroduced on 1 August 1946, after the pengő was rendered almost worthless by massive hyperinflation in 1945–46—the highest ever recorded. The process was managed by the Hungarian Communist Party, which held the relevant cabinet seats, the forints success was exploited for political gains, contributing to the Communists takeover of complete power in 1948–49. The forint replaced the pengő at the rate of 1 forint = 4×1029 pengő—dropping 29 zeroes from the old currency, in fact, this was an imaginary exchange rate. With the highest value note being 100 million B. pengő, of more significance was the exchange rate to the adópengő of 1 forint =200 million adópengő. Historically the forint was subdivided into 100 fillér, although coins have been rendered useless by inflation and have not been in circulation since 1999. The Hungarian abbreviation for forint is Ft, which is written after the number with a space between, the name fillér, the subdivision of all Hungarian currencies since 1925, comes from the German word Heller. The abbreviation for the fillér is f, written also after the number with a space in between, after the democratic change of 1989–90, the forint saw yearly inflation figures of app. 35% for three years, but significant market economy reforms helped stabilize it. Since year 2000 the relatively high value of forint handicaps the strongly export-oriented Hungarian industry against foreign competitors with lower valued currencies, in 1946, coins were introduced in denominations of 2,10,20 fillérs and 1,2,5 forints. The silver 5 forint was reissued only in the next year,5 and 50 fillérs coins were issued in 1948. In 1967, a 5 forint coin was reintroduced, followed by a 10 forint in 1971 and 20 forint in 1982. In 1992, a new series of coins was introduced in denominations of 1,2,5,10,20,50,100 and 200 forint, production of the 2 and 5 fillér coins ceased in 1992, with all fillér coins withdrawn from circulation by 1999. From 1996, a bicolor 100 forint coin was minted to replace the 1992 version, since the latter was considered too big and ugly, silver 200 forint coins were withdrawn in 1998, the 1 and 2 forint coins remained in circulation until 29 February 2008
22.
Romanian leu
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The Romanian leu, Romanian Lion is the currency of Romania. It is subdivided into 100 bani, the word bani is also used for money in the Romanian language. The name of the currency means lion, and is derived from the Dutch thaler, in 1860, the Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza attempted to create a national românul and the romanat, however the project was not approved by the Ottoman Empire. On April 22,1867, a currency was adopted. The first leu coin was minted in Romania in 1870, before 1878 the silver Russian ruble was valued so highly as to drive the native coins out of circulation. Consequently, in 1889, Romania unilaterally joined the Latin Monetary Union, silver coins were legal tender only up to 50 lei. Romania left the standard in 1914 and the leus value fell. The exchange rate was pegged at 167.20 lei =1 U. S. Dollar on February 7,1929,135.95 lei on November 5,1936,204.29 lei on May 18,1940, and 187.48 Lei on March 31,1941. During Romanias World War II alliance with Nazi Germany, the leu was pegged to the Reichsmark at a rate of 49.50 lei =1 Reichsmark, during Soviet occupation, the exchange rate was 1 ruble =100 lei. After the war, the value of the currency fell dramatically and the National Bank issued a new lei, a revaluation took place on August 15,1947, replacing the old leu at a rate of 20,000 old lei =1 new leu. No advance warning was given and there were limits for the sums to be converted in the new currency,5 million old lei for farmers and 3 million old lei for workers and pensioners. Out of the 48.5 billion old lei in circulation, the most affected was the middle and upper classes, who were later also affected by the nationalization of 1948. At the time of its introduction,150 new lei equaled 1 U. S. dollar, on January 28,1952, another new leu was introduced. Unlike the previous revaluation, different rates were employed for different kinds of exchange and these rates ranged from 20 to 400 old lei for 1 new leu. Again, no warning was given before the reform took place. Between 1970 and 1989, the exchange rate was fixed by the government through law. This exchange rate was used by the government to calculate the value of foreign trade, owning or attempting to buy or sell foreign currency was a criminal offence, punishable with a prison sentence that could go up to 10 years
23.
Swedish krona
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The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code SEK and currency sign kr are in use, the former precedes or follows the value. In English, the currency is referred to as the Swedish crown. The Swedish krona was the 11th most traded currency in the world by value in April 2013, one krona is subdivided into 100 öre. However, all öre coins have been discontinued as of 30 September 2010, goods can still be priced in öre, but all sums are rounded to the nearest krona when paying with cash. The introduction of the krona, which replaced at par the riksdaler, was a result of the Scandinavian Monetary Union, which came into effect in 1876 and lasted until the beginning of World War I. The parties to the union were the Scandinavian countries, where the name was krona in Sweden and krone in Denmark and Norway, the three currencies were on the gold standard, with the krona/krone defined as 1⁄2480 of a kilogram of pure gold. After dissolution of the union in August 1914, Sweden, Denmark. On 11 September 2012, the Riksbank announced a new series of coins with new sizes to replace the 1 and 5 kronor coins which arrived in October 2016. The design of the coins follows the theme of singer-songwriter Ted Gärdestads song, Sol, vind och vatten and this also included the reintroduction of the 2 kronor coin, while the current 10 kronor coin remained the same. The new coins also have a new portrait of the king in the design, one of the reasons for a new series of coins is to end the use of nickel. It is expected that vending machines and parking meters will to a high degree stop accepting coins. Cash is already used in Sweden, with many young people avoiding cash as much as possible. Between 1873 and 1876, coins in denominations of 1,2,5,10,25, and 50 öre and 1,2,10, and 20 kronor were introduced. The 1,2 and 5 öre were in bronze, the 10,25,50 öre and 1 krona and 2 kronor were in silver, gold 5 kronor coins were added in 1881. In 1873 the Scandinavian Monetary Union currency was fixed so that 248,000 öre purchased 1 kg of gold, in 2017 the price of gold is 365,289 kronor per kg. So one öre in 1873 bought as much gold as 1.47 krona in 2017, so if it is reasonable to have the smallest denomination coin 1 krona today, in 1873 a reasonable smallest denomination coin was 1 öre. A10 kr gold coin weighed 4.4803 grams with 900 finess so that the weight was 4.03327 grams or exactly 1/248th of a kilogram
24.
Azerbaijani manat
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The manat is the currency of Azerbaijan. It is subdivided into 100 qəpik, the word manat is borrowed from the Russian word Монета moneta which is pronounced as manta and is a loanword from Latin. Manat was also the designation of the Soviet ruble in both the Azerbaijani and Turkmen languages, the Azerbaijani manat symbol, ₼, was assigned to Unicode U+20BC in 2013. Can be used as a substitute for the manat symbol, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and its successor the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic issued their own currency between 1919 and 1923. The currency was called the manat in Azeri and the ruble in Russian, the manat replaced the first Transcaucasian ruble at par and was replaced by the second Transcaucasian ruble after Azerbaijan became part of the Transcaucasian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic. No subdivisions were issued, and the currency only existed as banknotes, the second manat was introduced on 15 August 1992. It had the ISO4217 code AZM and replaced the Soviet ruble at a rate of 10 rubles to 1 manat, from early 2002 to early 2005, the exchange rate was fairly stable. At the end of 2005, one dollar was worth 4591 manat, Banknotes below 100 manat had effectively disappeared by 2005, as had the qəpik coins. Coins were issued in denominations of 5,10,20 and 50 qəpik, although brass and cupro-nickel were used for some of the 1992 issues, later issues were all in aluminium. On 1 January 2006, a new manat was introduced at a value of 5,000 old manat, since 1 October 2005, prices have been indicated both in new manats and in old manats to ease transition. Coins denominated in qəpik, which had not been used from 1993 onwards due to inflation, have been reintroduced with the redenomination, the former manat remained valid through 31 December 2006. The new banknotes and Azeri Manat symbol, ₼, were designed by Robert Kalina in 2006, and the symbol was added to Unicode in 2013, after failed addition proposals between 2008 and 2011. The final Azeri Manat symbol design was inspired by the design of the Euro sign, based on a proposal by Mykyta Yevstifeyev. Coins in circulation are 1,3,5,10,20 and 50 qəpik, most coins closely resemble the size and shape of various euro coins. Most notably the bimetallic 50 qəpik and the 10 qəpik, Coins were first put into circulation during January 2006 and do not feature a mint year. Banknotes in circulation are 1,5,10,20,50 and 100 manat and they were designed by Austrian Robert Kalina, who also designed the current banknotes of the euro and the Syrian Pound. Therefore, the look quite similar to those of the euro. In 2009 the Azərbaycan Milli Bankı was renamed the Azərbaycan Mərkəzi Bankı, in 2011 the Azerbaijani ministry of finance announced it was considering to issue notes of 2 and 3 manat as well as notes with values larger than 100 manat
25.
Belarusian ruble
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The Belarusian ruble is the official currency of Belarus. The ruble is subdivided into 100 kopeks, the symbol for the ruble is Br and the ISO4217 code is BYN. As a result of the breakup of the chain in the former Soviet enterprises, goods started to be bought and sold in the market. In the medieval Grand Duchy of Lithuania of which Belarus was a major part, from the collapse of the Soviet Union until May 1992, the Soviet ruble circulated in Belarus alongside the Belarusian ruble. New Russian banknotes also circulated in Belarus, but they were replaced by notes issued by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus in May 1992. The first post-Soviet Belarusian ruble was assigned the ISO code BYB and it took about two years before the ruble became the official currency of the country. In 2000, a new ruble was introduced, replacing the first at a rate of 1 BYR =1,000 BYB and this was redenomination with three zeros removed. Only banknotes have been issued, with the coins issued being commemoratives for collectors. From the beginning of his presidency in 1994, Alexander Lukashenko began to suggest the idea of integration with the Russian Federation, from the beginning, there was also an idea of introducing a united currency for the Union of Russia and Belarus. 13 of the 1999 Treaty of Creation of the Union State of Russia, discussions about the Union currency has continued past the 2005 implementation goal set by both nations. Starting in 2008, the Central Bank of the Republic of Belarus announced that the ruble would be tied to the United States dollar instead of to the Russian ruble, Belarus economy is largely Soviet-style, centrally controlled and has been heavily reliant on cheap energy supplies from Russia. In July 2016, a new ruble was introduced, at a rate of 1 BYN =10,000 BYR, old and new rubles circulate in parallel from July 1 to December 31,2016. Belarus also issued coins for circulation for the first time. Seven denominations of banknotes and eight denominations of coins are in circulation on July 1,2016, the banknotes have security threads and show 2009 as an issue date. Their designs are similar to those of the euro, even the values of the coins and notes themselves are similar to those of the euro. In 2016, for the first time in the history of the Belarusian ruble. Previously, Belarus was one of the few countries in the never to have issued coins. Slovakia has offered to mint the coins, and has provided prototypes, all coins show the National emblem of Belarus, the inscription БЕЛАРУСЬ and the year of minting on their obverse
26.
Georgian lari
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The lari is the currency of Georgia. It is divided into 100 tetri, the name lari is an old Georgian word denoting a hoard, property, while tetri is an old Georgian monetary term used in ancient Colchis from the 6th century BC. Earlier Georgian currencies include the maneti and abazi, Georgia replaced the Russian ruble on 5 April 1993, with Kuponi at par. This currency consisted only of banknotes, had no subdivisions and suffered from hyperinflation, notes were issued in denominations between 1 and 1 million Kuponi, including the somewhat unusual 3,3000,30,000 and 150,000 Kuponi. On 2 October 1995, the government of Eduard Shevardnadze replaced the provisional coupon currency with the Lari and it has remained fairly stable since then. On 8 July 2014, Giorgi Kadagidze, Governor of the National Bank of Georgia, introduced the proposal for the sign of the national currency to the public. The Georgian lari had its own sign, the NBG announced the Lari sign competition in December 2013. The Lari sign is based on an arched letter ლ of the Georgian script and it is common in international common practice for a currency sign to consist of a letter, crossed by one or two parallel lines. Two parallel lines crossing the letter Lasi are the components of the Lari sign. The so-called “leg” of the letter, represented by a line, is a necessary attribute of the sign. The form of the letter is transformed in order to simplify its perception and implementation as a Lari sign, ten lari notes are produced by Polish Security Printing Works. Economy of Georgia Georgian money, National Bank of Georgia Banknotes of Georgia, Georgian Lari Catalog Coins of Georgia at CISCoins. net
27.
Moldovan leu
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The leu is the currency of Moldova. Like the Romanian leu, the Moldovan leu is subdivided into 100 bani, the name of the currency originates in Romania and means lion. Between 1918 and 1940 and again between 1941 and 1944, when Moldova was part of Romania, the Romanian leu was used in what was then the part of the broader Romanian region of Moldavia. The Moldovan leu was established on 29 November 1993, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and it replaced the temporary cupon currency at a rate of 1 leu =1000 cupon. In Transnistria, an unrecognized state claimed in whole by Moldova, the currency is not honoured by Moldova or any other state. In November 1993 coins of 1,5,10,25 and 50 bani in aluminium as well as nickel-plated-steel 1 and 5 leu coins were put in circulation, the aluminium 50 bani, nickel-plated-steel 1 and 5 leu coins were later withdrawn from circulation. Starting January 1998 the aluminium 50 bani was replaced by one constructed of brass-clad steel, no new 1- and 5 leu coins have been issued. 1-Ban coins were last minted in 2006 and they remain legal tender, but are rarely seen in circulation, effectively leading to Swedish rounding. Since 1996 several commemorative coins for collectors have been issued, a complete listing can be found here. There have been two series of Moldovan leu banknotes, the first series was short-lived and only included 1,5, and 10 lei. The front of all of these notes—and all subsequent notes—feature a portrait of Ștefan cel Mare, the first two lines of the Miorița ballad appear on the back, printed vertically between the denomination numeral and the vignette of the fortress. The Miorița is an old Romanian pastoral ballad considered one of the most important pieces of Romanian folklore. The lines “Pe-un picior de plai, Pe-o gură de rai” translate as “Near a low foothill, the first two lines of the Miorița ballad are written in the white circle on the front side of each banknote. On the back side of all the banknotes there are depicted Trajans Column, economy of Moldova Coins of Moldova at CISCoins. net Catalog of Banknotes of Moldova
28.
Kazakhstani tenge
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The tenge is the currency of Kazakhstan. It is divided into 100 tïın, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, attempts were made by most republics to maintain a common currency. Some politicians were hoping to at least maintain special relations among former Soviet republics, other reasons were the economic considerations for maintaining the ruble zone. The wish to preserve strong trade relations between former Soviet republics was considered the most important goal, the break-up of the Soviet Union was not accompanied by any formal changes in monetary arrangements. The Central Bank of Russia was authorized to take over the State Bank of the USSR on 1 January 1992. It continued to ship USSR ruble notes and coins to the banks of the fourteen newly independent countries. The political situation, however, was not favorable for maintaining a common currency and these conditions were far from being met amidst the turbulent economic and political situation. During the first half of 1992, a union with 15 independent states all using the ruble existed. Since it was clear that the situation would not last, each of them was using its position as free-riders to issue huge amounts of money in the form of credit. As a result, some countries were issuing coupons in order to protect their markets from buyers from other states, the Russian central bank responded in July 1992 by setting up restrictions to the flow of credit between Russia and other states. The final collapse of the zone began when Russia pulled out with the exchange of banknotes by the Central bank of Russia on Russian territory at the end of July 1993. As a result, Kazakhstan and other still in the ruble zone were pushed out. On November 12,1993, a decree of the President of Kazakhstan, the tenge was introduced on 15 November 1993 to replace the Soviet ruble at a rate of 1 tenge =500 rubles. In 1991 a special group of designers was created, Mendybay Alin, Timur Suleymenov, Asimsaly Duzelkhanov, as such, November 15 is celebrated as the Day of National Currency of Republic of Kazakhstan. In 1995, a printing factory was opened in Kazakhstan. The first consignment of tenge was printed abroad, in the UK, the first coins were minted in Germany. The word tenge in the Kazakh and most other Turkic languages means a set of scales, the origin of the word is the Turkic teŋ- which means being equal, balance. The name of currency is thus similar to the lira, pound
29.
Russian ruble
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The Russian ruble is the currency of the Russian Federation, the two partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and the two unrecognized republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. The ruble is subdivided into 100 kopeks, the ruble was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. Today apart from Russia, Belarus and Transnistria uses currencies with the same name, the ruble was the worlds first decimal currency, it was decimalised in 1704 when the ruble became legally equal to 100 kopeks. In 1992 the Soviet ruble was replaced with the Russian ruble at the rate 1 SUR =1 RUR. In 1998 following the crisis, the Russian ruble was redenominated with the new code RUB. Today, although RUB being the code of the Russian ruble. The ruble is the oldest national currency after the Pound sterling in the world, the ruble has been used on the Russian territories since the 13th century. The modern Russian ruble actually appeared in December 1991 in parallel with the Soviet ruble, following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet ruble remained the currency of the Russian Federation until 1992. A new set of coins was issued in 1992 and a new set of banknotes was issued in the name of Bank of Russia in 1993. The Russian ruble with the ISO4217 code is RUR and number 810 replaced the Soviet ruble at the rate 1 SUR =1 RUR. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation introduced new coins in 1992 in denominations of 1,5,10,20,50 and 100 rubles, the coins depict the double-headed eagle without a crown, sceptre and globus cruciger above the legend Банк России. It is exactly the same eagle, that the artist Ivan Bilibin painted after the February Revolution as a coat of arms for the Russian Republic. The 1 and 5 ruble coins were minted in brass-clad steel, the 10 and 20 ruble coins in cupro-nickel, in 1993, aluminium-bronze 50 ruble coins and cupro-nickel-zinc 100 ruble coins were issued, and the material of 10 and 20 ruble coins s was changed to nickel-plated steel. In 1995 the material of 50 ruble coins was changed to brass-plated steel, as high inflation persisted, the lowest denominations disappeared from circulation and the other denominations became rarely used. During this period the commemorative one ruble coin was regularly issued and it was practically identical in size and weight to a 5 Swiss franc coin. For this reason, there have been instances of ruble coins being used on a large scale to defraud automated vending machines in Switzerland. In 1961, new State Treasury notes were introduced for 1,3 and 5 rubles, along with new State Bank notes for 10,25,50 and 100 rubles. In 1991, the State Bank took over production of 1,3 and 5 ruble notes and also introduced 200,500 and 1,000 ruble notes, although the 25 ruble note was no longer issued
30.
Transnistrian ruble
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The ruble is the currency of Transnistria and is divided into 100 kopecks. Since Transnistria is a state with limited recognition and considered as part of Moldova. However, unofficially some Transnistrian organisations such as Agroprombank and Gazprombank used the code PRB, the Trans-Dniester Republican Bank sometimes uses the code RUP. Soviet banknotes were used in the Trans-Dniester Moldavian Republic after its formation in 1990, when the former Soviet republics began issuing their own currencies, Transnistria was flooded with Soviet rubles. These stamped notes replaced unstamped Soviet and Russian notes at par and it is thought that most uncirculated notes bearing these stickers were created after 1994 specifically for collectors. The first, provisional issues were replaced in August 1994 by a new ruble and this currency consisted solely of banknotes and suffered from high inflation, necessitating the issue of notes overstamped with higher denominations. Although issued in 1994, some notes were issued dated 1993, in 2000, a new ruble was introduced at a rate of 1 new ruble =1,000,000 old rubles. This new currency consists of coins and banknotes. Coins are of 1 to 50 kopecks and are made from aluminium or copper-zinc and are similar to Soviet-era coinage, the 1 kopeck coins were withdrawn from circulation in January 2009. On August 22,2014, the Transnistrian Republican Bank issued coins made of materials and come in denominations of 1-, 3-. Since 2000 the Transnistrian Republican Bank has issued a number of commercial commemorative coins made from silver. Their mintage numbers were low, ranging between 500 and 5,000. Topics included for example Ancient fortresses on the river Dniester, The Outstanding people Transdniestria, a complete listing can be found on the website of the Transnistrian Republican Bank. When it was founded, Transnistria did not have its own mint, thus a foreign mint had to be found to strike Transnistrian coins. The Mint of Poland in Warsaw was selected for the job, Coins dated 2000 were struck in Warsaw and transported via Ukraine to Transnistria in trucks belonging to the Transnistrian Republican Bank. The Moldovan government was not pleased with this situation, since they viewed it as a de facto recognition of Transnistria, in October 2001 Moldovan president Vladimir Voronin addressed the issue with his Polish counterpart. The conflict came to a height when in December 2004 Ukrainian customs confiscated a truck with US$117,000 worth of Transnistrian coins near Lviv, the coins were handed over to the Moldovan authorities, who in response again protested with the Polish government. The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs en state property wrote another letter to the Polish mint in April 2005 and they warned that continued production of Transnistrian coins would endanger relations with Ukraine and Moldova and damage the image of Poland abroad
31.
Ukrainian hryvnia
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The hryvnia, sometimes hryvnya, sign, ₴, code, UAH), has been the national currency of Ukraine since 2 September 1996. The hryvnia is subdivided into 100 kopiykas and it is named after a measure of weight used in medieval Kievan Rus. The currency of Kievan Rus in the century was called grivna. The word is thought to derive from the Slavic griva, c. f, Ukrainian, Russian, Bulgarian, and Serbo-Croatian грива / griva, meaning mane. It might have indicated something valuable worn around the neck, usually made of silver or gold, later, the word was used to describe silver or gold ingots of a certain weight, c. f. The modern Ukrainian hryvnia is sometimes transliterated as hryvna, hrivna, gryvna or grivna, due to its Russian language counterpart, гри́вна, however, the standard English name for the currency is hryvnia. The National Bank of Ukraine has recommended that a distinction be made between hryvnia and grívna in both historical and practical means, the nominative plural of hryvnia is hryvni, while the genitive plural is hryven′. An exception for this rule is numbers ending in 11,12,13 and 14 for which the plural is also used, for example. The singular for the subdivision is копійка, the plural is копійки. The hryvnia sign is a cursive Ukrainian letter He, with a horizontal stroke, symbolizing stability. The sign was encoded as U+20B4 in Unicode 4.1 and it is now supported by the latest computer systems. In Ukraine, if the sign is unavailable, the abbreviation грн. is used. A currency called hryvna was used in Kievan Rus, in 1917, after the Ukrainian National Republic declared independence from the Russian Empire, the name of the new Ukrainian currency became hryvnia, a revised version of the Kievan Rus hryvna. The hryvnia replaced the karbovanets during the period 2–16 September 1996, the karbovanets was subject to hyperinflation in the early 1990s following the collapse of the USSR. To a large extent, the introduction of hryvnia was secretive, Hryvnia was introduced according to Presidents Decree dated 26 August 1996, published on August 29. During the transition period, September 2–16, both hryvnia and karbovanets were used in circulation, but merchants were required to change only in hryvnias. All bank accounts were converted to hryvnia automatically, during the transition period, 97% of karbovanets were taken out of circulation, including 56% in the first 5 days of the currency reform. After 16 September 1996, the remaining karbovanets were allowed to be exchanged to hryvnias in banks, the hryvnia was introduced during the period when Victor Yushchenko was the Chairman of National Bank of Ukraine
32.
Albanian lek
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The lek is the official currency of Albania. It is subdivided into 100 qindarka, although qindarka are no longer issued, the lek was introduced as the first Albanian currency in February 1926. Before then, Albania was a country without a currency, adhering to a standard for the fixation of commercial values. The lek was named after Alexander the Great, whose name is shortened to Leka in Albanian. Alexanders portrait appeared on the obverse of the 1 lek coin, the name qindarkë comes from the Albanian qind, meaning one hundred. The word is similar in formation to centime, cent. Between 1926 and 1939 the name Franga was used for Albanian gold currency worth five Albanian Leke for use in international transactions, a similar alternate name Belga was used for units of five Belgian francs. In 1926, bronze coins were introduced in denominations of 5 and 10 qindar leku, together with nickel 1⁄4, 1⁄2 and 1 lek, the obverse of the franga coins depict Amet Zogu. In 1935, bronze 1 and 2 qindar ar were issued and this coin series depicted distinct neoclassical motifs, said to have been influenced by the Italian king Victor Emmanuel III who was known to have been a coin collector. These coins depict the mint marks R or V indicating Rome or Venice, aluminium-bronze 0.05 and 0.10 lek were then introduced in 1940. These coins were issued until 1941 and bear the portrait of Italian King Victor Emmanuel III on the obverse and the Albanian eagle with fasces on the reverse. In 1947, shortly after the communist party took power, older coins were withdrawn from circulation and these all depicted the socialist national crest. This coinage was minted in 1957 and used until the currency reform of 1965. In 1965, aluminium coins were introduced in denominations of 5,10,20 and 50 qindar and 1 lek, all coins depict the socialist state emblem. In 1969, a series of aluminum 5,10,20,50 qindar and 1 lek coins was released commemorating the 1944 liberation from fascism. The three smallest denominations remained similar in design to the 1964 series but depicted 1944-1969 on the obverse, the 50 qindarka and lek coins depicted patriotic and military images. In 1988, a redesign of aluminum 5,10,20,50 qindarka and 1 lek coins was released. In 1989, a cupro nickel 2 leke coin was introduced, all three of these coin series remained in circulation during and shortly after the 1991 revolution
33.
Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark
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The Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark is the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is divided into 100 pfenigs or fenings, and locally abbreviated KM, the convertible mark was established by the 1995 Dayton Agreement. It replaced the Bosnia and Herzegovina dinar, Croatian kuna and Republika Srpska dinar as the currency of Bosnia. Mark refers to the German mark, the currency to which it was pegged at par, the names derive from the German language. Three official languages in Bosnia and Herzegovina have adopted German nouns die Mark and der Pfennig as loanwords marka, the Official Gazette of BiH, Official newspaper of FBiH and other official documents recognized pfenig or пфениг as the name of the subdivision. Banknotes of 50 fenings/pfenigs were in circulation from 1998 to 2000 and they were denoted as 50 KONVERTIBILNIH PFENIGA /50 КОНВЕРТИБИЛНИХ ПФЕНИГА, however, the word convertible should never be next to the pfenig because only the mark can be convertible. Coins of 10,20 and 50 pfenigs have been in circulation since 1998, all of them are inscribed ~ feninga / ~ фенинга on the obverse. Misspelling fening/фенинг has never been corrected, and it took that much hold that is now officially adopted, Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian have a complicated case system. In addition, it is important to note that use three plural forms. A syllable after a syllable whose vowel is pronounced as a long. These matters should be noted when one uses the names in English. For example, English plural ten pfenigas / ten feningas is incorrect as the final a in BSC plural pfeniga/feninga already indicates the plural, so, ten pfenigs / ten fenings should be used instead. The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina uses fenings as the English plural, likewise, twenty-one markas / two markes / twelve marakas is incorrect, twenty-one marks / two marks / twelve marks should be used instead. In December 1998, coins were introduced in denominations of 10,20 and 50 fenings/pfenigs, coins of 1,2 and 5 marks were introduced later. The coins were designed by Bosnian designer Kenan Zekic and minted at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, in 1998, notes were introduced in denominations of 50 fenings/pfenigs,1 mark,5,10,20,50 and 100 marks. 200-mark notes were added in 2002, whilst the 50-fening/pfenig, 1-, all current notes are valid throughout the country. On the notes of the Republika Srpska, inscriptions are printed in Cyrillic, then Latin script, banknotes, with the exception of the 200-mark note, are printed by the French company Oberthur. The portraits of Ivan Franjo Jukić and Meša Selimović, which are both writers, were featured by consensus between both entities on all 1 and 5 KM notes used between 1998 and 2010
34.
Macedonian denar
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The denar is the currency of the Republic of Macedonia. It is subdivided into 100 deni, the first Macedonian denar was established on 26 April 1992. It replaced the 1990 version of the Yugoslav dinar at par, in May 1993, the currency was reformed. A new denar was introduced, with one new denar being equal to 100 old denari, 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 first denar was a temporary currency introduced in April 1992 to establish the monetary independence of the Republic of Macedonia. It replaced the Yugoslav dinar at par, 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 independence from Yugoslavia. On 26 April the national bank was established and the declared the currency of the country. Notes entered circulation the next day and on 30 April the Yugoslav dinar ceased to be legal tender, 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 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 is reflected in the notes themselves. The paper, which was purchased from Slovenia, proved to be of poor quality, 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 notes were designed by a young employee of the 11 October printer. He had only one week to them and not a very large budget. That is why the six lowest denominations are identical with the exception of their colors. ”The denar was introduced with an exchange rate against the German Mark of 360 denars to the mark. In May 1993, coins for the second denar were introduced in denominations of 50 deni,1,2,10 and 50 denari coins were introduced in November 2008
35.
Maltese scudo
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The scudo is the official currency of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and was the currency of Malta during the rule of the Order over Malta, which ended in 1798. It is subdivided into 12 tarì, each of 20 grani with 6 piccioli to the grano and it is pegged to the euro. The scudo was first minted in Rhodes in 1318, by 1500 the coins had the distinctive characteristics of a cross and the Orders and Grandmasters coat of arms on one side, and the head of St. John the Baptist on the other. The scudo was first minted in Malta during the reign of Piero de Ponte, the quality of the coins improved especially during the reign of António Manoel de Vilhena in the early 18th century. At some points in time, foreign coinage was allowed to circulate in Malta alongside the scudo and these included Spanish dollars, Venetian lire, Louis dor and other currencies. After the Maltese rebellion, gold and silver ingots were stamped with a value in grani, tari and scudi and they briefly circulated as coinage in Valletta. Despite this some scudi remained in use and the last coins were withdrawn from circulation,1 scudo in 1886 had the spending power equivalent to £3.82 or €4.35 in 2011. The present-day Republic of Malta adopted the decimal Maltese lira in 1972, the SMOM, which is now based in Rome, has issued souvenir coins denominated in grani, tari and scudi since 1961. The 1961 issues were minted in Rome, while mints in Paris, from 1964 onwards coins were minted in the Orders own mint. The scudo is only intended to be recognised as legal tender within the Order itself, the scudo was also the currency used on the Orders stamps from 1961 to 2005, when the euro began to be used. Coins were issued in denominations of 1, 2½,5 and 10 grani,1,2,4 and 6 tarì,1, 1¼, 1⅓,2, 2½,5,10 and 20 scudi. The 1, 2½,5 and 10 grani and 1 tarì were minted in copper, with the 2½ grani denominated as 15 piccioli. The 2,4 and 6 tarì,1, 1¼, 1⅓,2 and 2½ scudi were silver coins, with the 1¼, 1⅓, the 5,10,20 scudi coins were gold. Coins minted today include bronze 10 grani, silver 9 tarì,1 and 2 scudi, in 2011, a gold coin of António Manoel de Vilhena minted in 1725 sold for $340,000
36.
Serbian dinar
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The dinar is the currency of Serbia. The earliest use of the dates back to 1214. The first mention of a Serbian dinar dates back to the reign of Stefan Nemanjić in 1214, until the fall of Despot Stjepan Tomašević in 1459, most of the Serbian rulers minted silver dinar coins. The first Serbian dinars, like many other south-European coins, replicated Venetian grosso, for many years it was one of the main export articles of medieval Serbia, considering the relative abundance of silver coming from Serbian mines. The Ottomans operated coin mints in Novo Brdo, Kučajna and Belgrade, the subdivision of the dinar, the para, is named after the Turkish silver coins of the same name. After the Principality of Serbia was formally established there were many different foreign coins in circulation, eventually, Prince Miloš Obrenović decided to introduce some order by establishing exchange rates based on the groat as money of account. In 1819 Miloš published a table rating 43 different foreign coins,10 gold,28 silver, after the last Ottoman garrisons were withdrawn in 1867, Serbia was faced with multiple currencies in circulation. Thus, prince Mihailo Obrenović ordered a national currency be minted, the first bronze coins were introduced in 1868, followed by silver in 1875 and gold in 1879. The first banknotes were issued in 1876, between 1873 and 1894, the dinar was pegged at par to the French franc. The Kingdom of Serbia also joined the Latin Monetary Union, in 1920, the Serbian dinar was replaced at par by the Yugoslav dinar, with the Yugoslav krone also circulating together. In 1868, bronze coins were introduced in denominations of 1,5 and 10 paras, the obverses featured the portrait of Prince Mihailo Obrenović III. Silver coins were introduced in 1875, in denominations of 50 paras,1 and 2 dinars, the first gold coins were also issued in 1879, for 20 dinars, with 10 dinars introduced in 1882. The gold coins issued for the coronation of Milan I coronation in 1882 were popularly called milandor, in 1883, cupro-nickel 5,10 and 20 para coins were introduced, followed by bronze 2 paras coins in 1904. In 1876, state notes were introduced in denominations of 1,5,10,50 and 100 dinars and these were followed by notes of the Chartered National Bank from 1884, with notes for 10 dinars backed by silver and gold notes for 50 and 100 dinars. Gold notes for 20 dinars and silver notes for 100 dinars were introduced in 1905, during World War I, silver notes for 50 and 5 dinars were introduced in 1914 and 1916, respectively. In 1915, stamps were authorized for circulation as currency in denominations of 5,10,15,20,25,30 and 50 paras. In 1941, the Yugoslav dinar was replaced, at par, the dinar was pegged to the German reichsmark at a rate of 250 dinars =1 Reichsmark. This dinar circulated until 1944, when the Yugoslav dinar was reintroduced by the Yugoslav Partisans, in 1942, zinc coins were introduced in denominations of 50 paras,1 and 2 dinars, with 10 dinar coins following in 1943
37.
Turkish lira
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The Turkish lira is the currency of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The Turkish lira is subdivided into 100 kuruş, the lira, along with the related currencies of Europe and the Middle East, has its roots in the ancient Roman unit of weight known as the libra which referred to the Troy pound of silver. The Roman libra adoption of the currency spread it throughout Europe and the Near East, the Turkish lira, the French livre, the Italian lira, and the British pound are the modern descendants of the ancient currency. The Ottoman lira was introduced as the unit of currency in 1844, with the former currency, kuruş. The Ottoman lira remained in circulation until the end of 1927, historical banknotes from the second, third and fourth issues have portraits of İsmet İnönü on the obverse side. This change was done according to the 12 January 1926 issue of the official gazette, from 1970, a series of hard, then soft pegs to the dollar operated as the value of the Turkish lira began to fall. The Turkish lira had slid in value so far that one original gold lira coin could be sold for 154,400,000 Turkish lira before the 2005 revaluation. In December 2003, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey passed a law allowed for redenomination by the removal of six zeros from the Turkish lira. It was introduced on 1 January 2005, replacing the previous Turkish lira at a rate of 1 second Turkish lira =1,000,000 first Turkish lira, with the revaluation of the Turkish lira, the Romanian leu briefly became the worlds least valued currency unit. At the same time, the Government introduced two new banknotes called TRY100 and TRY50, in the transition period between January 2005 and December 2008, the second Turkish lira was officially called Yeni Türk Lirası. It was officially abbreviated YTL and subdivided into 100 new kuruş, starting in January 2009, the new marking was removed from the second Turkish lira, its official name becoming just Turkish lira again, abbreviated TL. All obverse sides of current banknotes and reverse sides of current coins have portraits of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, also, the center and ring alloys of the 50 kuruş and 1 Turkish lira coins were reversed. A new series of banknotes, the E-9 Emission Group entered circulation on 1 January 2009, the E-9 banknotes refer to the currency as Turkish lira rather than new Turkish lira and include a new 200-Turkish-lira denomination. The new banknotes have different sizes to prevent forgery, the main specificity of this new series is that each denomination depicts a famous Turkish personality, rather than geographical sites and architectural features of Turkey. The dominant color of the 5-Turkish-lira banknote has been determined as purple on the series of the current banknotes. Turkish Lira exchange rates became more stable after 2004, dollar =3.44 Turkish lira The current currency sign of Turkish lira was created by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey in 2012. The new sign was selected after a country-wide contest, the new symbol, created by Tülay Lale, is composed of the letter L shaped like a half anchor, and embedded double-striped letter T angled at 20 degrees. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the new symbol on 1 March 2012, at its unveiling, Erdoğan explained the design as the anchor shape hopes to convey that the currency is a safe harbor while the upward-facing lines represent its rising prestige
38.
Guernsey pound
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The pound is the currency of Guernsey. It can be exchanged at par with sterling coinage and notes. For this reason, ISO4217 does not include a separate code for the Guernsey pound. Until the early 19th century, Guernsey used predominantly French currency, coins of the French livre were legal tender until 1834, with French francs used until 1921. In 1830, Guernsey began production of coins denominated in doubles. The double was worth 1/80 of a French franc, the name double derived from the French double deniers, although the value of the coin was equal to the liard still circulating. Coins were issued in denominations of 1,2,4 and 8 doubles, the 8 double coin was a Guernsey penny, with twelve to the Guernsey shilling. However, this shilling was not equal to the British shilling, banknotes were also produced by the States of Guernsey from 1827, denominated in pounds. In 1848, an ordinance was passed that the pound sterling should be legal tender at a value of £1 1s 3d and this was rescinded two years later and French currency, supplemented by local issues, continued to circulate. In 1870, British coins were legal tender, with the British shilling circulating at 12½ Guernsey pence. Bank of England notes became legal tender in 1873, in 1914, new banknotes appeared, some of which carried denominations in Guernsey shillings and francs. After the First World War, the value of the franc began to fall relative to sterling and this caused Guernsey to adopt a pound equal to the pound sterling in 1921. For amounts below 1 shilling, the rate of 1 Guernsey penny =1 British penny applied. This conversion increased the value of the double from 1⁄2016 to 1⁄1920 of a pound, the World War I issues of banknotes were overstamped with the word British to indicate this change. New banknotes and British silver coinage circulated alongside the double coins, in 1971, along with the rest of the British Isles, Guernsey decimalized, with the pound subdivided into 100 pence, and began issuing a full range of coin denominations from ½p to 50p. The Guernsey pound, and other notes denominated in pound sterling may be used in Guernsey, the Guernsey pound is legal tender only in the Bailiwick of Guernsey although it also circulates freely in Jersey but cannot be used in the UK. It can also be exchanged in other places at banks and bureaux de change, in addition, the 8 double coins featured a wreath on both sides. In 1956, new designs were introduced for the 4 and 8 doubles and these featured the Islands seal and name on the obverse with the English name, the date and the Guernsey lily on the reverse
39.
Jersey pound
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The pound is the currency of Jersey. It can be exchanged at par with sterling coinage and notes. For this reason, ISO4217 does not include a separate code for the Jersey pound. Both Jersey and Bank of England notes are legal tender in Jersey and circulate together, alongside the Guernsey pound, the Jersey notes are not legal tender in the United Kingdom but are legal currency, so creditors and traders may accept them if they so choose. The livre was the currency of Jersey until 1834 and it consisted of French coins which, in the early 19th century, were exchangeable for sterling at a rate of 26 livres =1 pound. After the livre was replaced by the franc in France in 1795, because the sous remained the chief small-change coins, when a new copper coinage was issued for Jersey in 1841, it was based on a penny worth 1⁄13 of a shilling, the equivalent of 2 sous. This system continued until 1877, when a penny of 1⁄12 of a shilling was introduced, along with the rest of the British Isles, Jersey decimalized in 1971 and began issuing a full series of circulating coins from ½p to 50p. £1 and £2 denominations followed later, as of December 2005, there was £64. 7m of Jersey currency in circulation. A profit of £2. 8m earned on the issue of Jersey currency was received by the Treasurer of the States in 2005, £1 coins have a different design each year. Initially, each new coin featured one of the coats of arms of the 12 parishes of Jersey and these were followed by a series of coins featuring sailing ships built in the island. The motto round the edge of Jersey pound coins is. Jersey £1 coins will cease to be legal tender in Jersey on 15 October 2017 to coincide with the withdrawal of the circular £1 coin in the UK, the UKs new 12-sided £1 coin will be the only £1 coin that is legal tender in the Island. Because the sous remained the chief small-change coins, when a new coinage was issued for Jersey in 1841, it was based on a penny worth 1⁄13 of a shilling. In 1841, copper 1⁄52, 1⁄26 and 1⁄13 shilling coins were introduced, followed by bronze 1⁄26, in 1877 a penny of 1⁄12 of a shilling was introduced, and the system changed to 12 pence to the shilling. Bronze 1⁄48, 1⁄24 and 1⁄12 shilling were introduced and this was the only issue of the 1⁄48 shilling denomination. Between 1949 and 1952 the end of the German occupation of the Channel Islands was marked by one million commemorative Liberation pennies that were struck for Jersey, in 1957, a nickel-brass 3 pence coin was introduced carrying the denomination one fourth of a shilling. The 1957 and 1960 issues were round, with a version introduced in 1964. In 1968,5 and 10 pence coins were introduced, followed by 50 pence in 1969 and ½p, all had the same composition and size as the corresponding British coins
40.
Manx pound
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The Manx pound is the currency of the Isle of Man, in parity with the pound sterling. The Manx pound is divided into 100 pence, Government notes and coins, denominated in pounds and pence, are issued by the Isle of Man Government. Manx government notes may, on demand, be exchanged at par for Bank of England notes of equivalent value at any office of the Isle of Man Bank. All notes and coins which are legal tender in any part of the United Kingdom are legal tender within the Isle of Man. Unlike Northern Irish and Scottish notes, the UK does not require the Isle of Man government to back the Manx currency with Bank of England notes or securities, there is no restriction under UK law on the amount of notes and coins they may issue. The currency is not underwritten by the UK government, and there is no guarantee of payment beyond that given by the Manx authorities. ISO4217 does not include a separate code for the Manx pound. UK notes and coins are accepted in the Isle of Man. To assist those travelling, the ATMs at the Sea Terminal, Douglas, a number of businesses accept euros. The first Manx coinage was issued privately in 1668 by John Murrey and these Murrey Pennies were made legal tender in 1679, when the Court of Tynwald outlawed the unofficial private coinage that had been circulating prior to and alongside John Murreys pennies. At that time, Tynwald also forbade the removal of money from the island, in 1696, a further devaluation occurred, with all English silver and gold coins valued at 14 Manx pence for every shilling. Between 1696 and 1840, Manx copper coins circulated alongside first English, as in England, there were 20 shillings to the pound. Thus, after 1696, £100 sterling was worth £116 13s 4d Manx, in 1708, the Isle of Man Government approached the Royal Mint, and requested that coinage be issued for the island. The then Master of the Mint, Sir Isaac Newton, refused, as a result, the first Government issue of coins on the island was in 1709. This coinage was legal tender on 24 June 1710. In 1733 Tynwald prohibited the circulation of any base coinage other than that issued by the Government and this happened on such a scale that by 1830 the island was almost totally deprived of copper coinage. In an attempt to resolve this problem, a proposal was introduced to abandon the separate Manx coinage in favour of British coins and this was rejected by the House of Keys in 1834, but they were overruled by the British Government in 1839. An Act was passed declaring that, the currency of Great Britain shall be and become, and is hereby declared to be, the currency of the Isle of Man, and this remains Manx law to this day
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Norwegian krone
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The krone, plural kroner, is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. It is subdivided into 100 øre, which exist only electronically since 2012, the name translates into English as crown. The krone was the thirteenth most traded currency in the world by value in April 2010, the krone was introduced in 1875, replacing the Norwegian speciedaler/spesidaler at a rate of 4 kroner =1 speciedaler. In doing so, Norway joined the Scandinavian Monetary Union, which had established in 1873. After its dissolution, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden all decided to keep the names of their respective, within the Scandinavian Monetary Union, the krone was on a gold standard of 2,480 kroner =1 kilogram of pure gold. This gold standard was restored between 1916 and 1920 and again in 1928 and it was suspended permanently in 1931, when a peg to the British pound of 19.9 kroner =1 pound was established. In 1939, Norway pegged the krone temporarily to the U. S. dollar at a rate of 4.4 kroner =1 dollar, nonetheless, Norway would continue to hold the Kingdoms gold reserves. During the German occupation in the Second World War, the krone was initially pegged to the Reichsmark at a rate of 1 krone =0.6 Reichsmark, after the war, a rate of 20 kroner =1 pound was established. The rate to the pound was maintained in 1949, when the pound devalued relative to the U. S. dollar, in 1875, coins were introduced in denominations of 10 and 50 øre and 1 and 10 kroner. These coins also bore the denomination in the currency, as 3,15. Between 1875 and 1878, the new coinage was introduced in full, in denominations of 1,2,5,10,25, and 50 øre and 1,2, and 10 kroner. The 1,2, and 5 øre were struck in bronze, the 10,25, and 50 øre and 1 and 2 kroner, in silver, the last gold coins were issued in 1910, silver was replaced by cupro-nickel from 1920. Between 1917 and 1921, iron replaced bronze. 1917 also saw the last issuance of 2 kroner coins, during the German occupation in the Second World War, zinc was used in place of cupro-nickel in 10,25, and 50 øre coins, and production of the 1 krone piece was suspended. In 1963,5 kroner coins were introduced, production of 1 and 2 øre coins ceased in 1972. The following year, the size of the 5 øre coin was reduced, production of the denomination ceased in 1982, ten-kroner coins were introduced in 1983. In 1992, the last 10 øre coins were minted, between 1994 and 1998, a new coinage was introduced, consisting of 50 øre,1,5,10, and 20 kroner. These are the coins which are currently legal tender, with the exception of the 50-øre coin which was withdrawn on 1 May 2012
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Swiss franc
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The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione dItalia. The Swiss National Bank issues banknotes and the federal mint Swissmint issues coins, the smaller denomination, a hundredth of a franc, is a Rappen in German, centime in French, centesimo in Italian, and rap in Romansh. The ISO code of the used by banks and financial institutions is CHF, although Fr. is used by most businesses and advertisers. Given the different languages used in Switzerland, Latin is used for inscriptions on the coins. In 1798, the Helvetic Republic introduced a currency based on the Berne thaler, the Swiss franc was equal to 6 3⁄4 grams of pure silver or 1 1⁄2 French francs. This franc was issued until the end of the Helvetic Republic in 1803, in order to solve this problem, the new Swiss Federal Constitution of 1848 specified that the federal government would be the only entity allowed to make money in Switzerland. This was followed two years later by the first Federal Coinage Act, passed by the Federal Assembly on 7 May 1850, the franc was introduced at par with the French franc. It replaced the different currencies of the Swiss cantons, some of which had been using a franc which was worth 1 1⁄2 French francs. In 1865, France, Belgium, Italy, and Switzerland formed the Latin Monetary Union, the currency was devalued by 30% following the devaluations of the British pound, U. S. dollar and French franc. In 1945, Switzerland joined the Bretton Woods system and pegged the franc to the U. S. dollar at a rate of $1 =4.30521 francs and this was changed to $1 =4.375 francs in 1949. The Swiss franc has historically considered a safe-haven currency with virtually zero inflation. However, this link to gold, which dates from the 1920s, was terminated on 1 May 2000 following a referendum. By March 2005, following a gold selling program, the Swiss National Bank held 1,290 tonnes of gold in reserves which equated to 20% of its assets. In November 2014, the referendum on the Swiss Gold Initiative which proposed a restoration of 20% gold backing for the Swiss franc was voted down, in March 2011 the franc climbed past the US$1.10 mark. In June 2011 the franc climbed past US$1.20 as investors sought safety amidst the continuation of the Greek sovereign-debt crisis, demand for francs and franc-denominated assets was so strong that nominal short-term Swiss interest rates became negative. In response to the announcement the franc fell against the euro, to 1.22 francs from 1.12 francs, the intervention stunned currency traders since the franc had long been regarded as a safe haven. The franc fell 8. 8% against the euro,9. 5% against the dollar and it was the largest plunge of the franc ever against the euro. The SNB had previously set an exchange rate target in 1978 against the Deutsche mark and maintained it, although at the cost of high inflation
Artsakh (alongside Armenian dram)
