Moroccan dirham

Moroccan dirham
درهم مغربي (Arabic)
ISO 4217
Code	MAD
Denominations
Subunit
1/100	santim
Symbol	MAD
Banknotes	20, 50, 100 & 200 dirhams
Coins	1, 5, 10 & 20 santimat, ½, 1, 2, 5 & 10 dirhams
Rarely used	5 santimat
Demographics
User(s)	Morocco  Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Issuance
Central bank	Bank Al-Maghrib
Website	www.bkam.ma
Valuation
Inflation	2%
Source	The World Factbook, 2007 est.

The dirham (Arabic: درهم‎‎), plural: (Arabic: دراهم‎‎), is the currency of Morocco. The plural form is pronounced darahim, although in French and English "dirhams" is commonly used. Its ISO 4217 code is "MAD". It is subdivided into 100 santimat (singular: santim, Arabic singular: سنتيم, plural: سنتيما or سنتيمات). The dirham is issued by the Bank Al-Maghrib, the central bank of Morocco.

History

Coins and banknotes in Moroccan dirhams (MAD).

Before the introduction of a modern coinage in 1882, Morocco issued copper coins denominated in falus, silver coins denominated in dirham & gold coins denominated in benduqi. From 1882, the dirham became a subdivision of the Moroccan rial, with 50 Mazunas = 10 dirham = 1 rial.

When most of Morocco became a French protectorate in 1912 it switched to the Moroccan franc. The dirham was reintroduced on 16 October 1960.^[1] It replaced the franc as the major unit of currency but, until 1974, the franc continued to circulate, with 1 dirham = 100 francs. In 1974, the santim replaced the franc.^[2]

Coins

In 1960, silver 1 dirham coins were introduced. These were followed by nickel 1 dirham and silver 5 dirham coins in 1965. In 1974, with the introduction of the santim, a new coinage was introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 santimat and 1 dirham. The 1 santim coins were aluminium, the 5 up to 20 santimat were minted in brass, with the highest two denominations in cupro-nickel. Cupro-nickel 5 dirham coins were added in 1980 and changed to a bi-metal coin in 1987. The bi-metal coins bear two year designations for the issue date—1987 in the Gregorian calendar and the 1407 in the Islamic calendar. The 1 santim was only minted until 1987 when new designs were introduced, with a ½ dirham replacing the 50 santimat without changing the size or composition. The new 5 dirham coin was bimetallic, as was the 10 dirham coin introduced in 1995. Cupro-nickel 2 dirham coins were introduced in 2002. In 2011, a new series of coins has been issued, with the 5 and 10 dirham coin utilizing a latent image as a security feature.^[3]

Banknotes

The first notes denominated in dirham were overprints on earlier franc notes, in denominations of 50 dirhams (on 5000 francs) and 100 dirhams (on 10,000 francs). In 1965, new notes were issued for 5, 10 and 50 dirhams. 100 dirham notes were introduced in 1970, followed by 200 dirham notes in 1991 and 20 dirham notes in 1996. 5 dirham notes were replaced by coins in 1980, with the same happening to 10 dirham notes in 1995. In mid-October 2009, Bank Al-Maghrib issued four million 50-dirham banknotes to commemorate the bank's 50th anniversary. The commemorative note measures 147 x 70 mm and features the portraits of Kings Mohammed VI, Hassan II, and Mohammed V. The back of the notes features the headquarters of Bank Al-Maghrib in Rabat. The speech delivered in 1959 by Mohammed V at the opening of Bank Al-Maghrib is microprinted on the back.^[5]

In December 2012, Bank-Al Maghrib issued a 25-dirham banknote to commemorate the 25th anniversary of banknote production at the Moroccan State Printing Works, Dar As-Sikkah. It is the first banknote in the world to be printed on Durasafe, a paper-polymer-paper composite substrate produced by Fortress Paper. The front of the commemorative note features an intaglio vignette and a watermark of King Mohammed VI, and a magenta-green color shift security thread. The thread, like the watermark, is embedded inside the banknote yet visible behind a one-sided Viewsafe polymer window. It also has a fully transparent polymer window embossed with the King's royal crest. The back of the note carries a print vignette commemorating 25 years of banknote printing at the Moroccan State Printing Works, Dar As-Sikkah. The windows in Durasafe are formed by die cutting each side of the three layer composite substrate separately. One-sided Viewsafe windows give a clear view inside the substrate where the thread and the watermark of King Mohammed VI are protected, but fully visible behind the polymer core. The transparent Thrusafe window is created by die-cutting both the outer paperlayers to reveal only the transparent polymer core.^[6]

On August 15, 2013, Bank Al-Maghrib has announced a new series of banknotes. The notes feature a portrait of King Mohammed VI and the royal crown. Each of the notes show a Moroccan door to the left of the portrait, demonstrating the richness of the country's architectural heritage, and symbolizing the openness of the country.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Dirham Banknotes [11]
1987 Series (Including 1991 Revision)
Value	Dimensions	Obverse	Reverse	Main Colour	Description			Date of
					Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	printing	issue
10 dirhams	143 × 70 mm			Yellow and pink (1987) violet (1991)	Hassan II	Moroccan lute, pillar	Hassan II	1987	1987/ca. 1991
50 dirhams	148 × 70 mm			Green	Hassan II	A fantasia scene	Hassan II	1987	1987/ca. 1991
100 dirhams	153 × 75 mm			Brown	Hassan II	The Green March into the Spanish Sahara (October, 1975), Desert rose	Hassan II	1987	1987/ca. 1991
200 dirhams	158 × 75 mm			Blue	Hassan II	Conch shell, a branch of coral, and a Dhow.	Hassan II	1987	ca. 1991
1996 Series
20 dirhams	130 × 68 mm			Brown-reddish	Hassan II, Great mosque of Casablanca	Wall fountain of the Hassan II Mosque	Hassan II	1996	1996
2002 Series
20 dirhams	140 × 70 mm			Violet	Mohammed VI, "Bab Challah" (Challah gate) in Rabat	A panoramical view of the Oudayas	Mohammed VI and "20"	2005	2005
50 dirhams	147 × 70 mm			Green	Mohammed VI	A clay-made building (Ksour)	Mohammed VI and "50"	2002	2002
100 dirhams	150 × 78 mm			Brown	Mohammed VI, Mohammed V and Hassan II	The Green March into the Spanish Sahara (October, 1975)	Mohammed VI and "100"	2002	2002
200 dirhams	158 × 78 mm			Blue	Mohammed VI and Hassan II, Grand mosque of Casablanca	A window of the Hassan II Mosque, Lighthouse of Casablanca (Pointe el-Hank)	Mohammed VI and "200"	2002	2002
2013 Series
20 dirhams	131 x 70 mm			Purple, orange and blue	Mohammed VI, coat of arms of Morocco	Train crossing Hassan II Bridge over the Bou Regreg river in Rabat; Hassan II Mosque and city buildings in Casablanca	Mohammed VI and electrotype 20	2012	2013
50 dirhams	138 x 70 mm			Green, yellow and blue	Mohammed VI, coat of arms of Morocco	Ouzoud Falls; tree, fruit, and bird	Mohammed VI and electrotype 50	2012	2013
100 dirhams	145 x 70 mm			Brown, yellow, violet and blue	Mohammed VI; coat of arms of Morocco	Touareg tent; wind turbine farm; three camels with riders on a desert	Mohammed VI and electrotype 100	2012	2012
200 dirhams	151 x 70 mm			Blue, green and violet	Mohammed VI; coat of arms of Morocco	Cargo ship, gantry cranes, and shipping containers in the port of Tangier; lighthouse and trees on Cape Spartel in Tangier	Mohammed VI and electrotype 200	2012	2012
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Popular denominations and usage

Popular denominations are words widely used in Morocco to refer to different values of the currency; they are not considered official by the state, though. Those include the rial (Arabic pronunciation: [rjal]), equivalent to 5 santimat, and the franc [frˤɑnk], equivalent to 1 santim. Usually, when dealing with goods with a value lower than a dirham, it is common to use the rial or santim. For very high priced goods, such as cars, it is normative to refer to the price in santimat. However, rial is used when speaking in Arabic and centime when speaking in French. Though not used by the young generation, the denomination 1000, 2000, ... to 100,000 francs will be used by people who lived during the French colonial period when referring to 10, 20 and 1000 dirham. Likewise, rial is also used for higher value than portions of the dirham, reaching 5000 dhs (100,000 rial). This denomination is used in Moroccan Arabic speaking context, especially in popular milieu such as old medina souks or vegetable markets.

50 dirhams and Ksour in the background

See also

• Economy of Morocco

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Money of Morocco.

Economy of Morocco
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