Moroccan dirham

Moroccan dirham درهم مغربي (Arabic)
ISO 4217 Code	MAD
User(s)	Morocco and  Western Sahara
Inflation	2%
Source	The World Factbook, 2007 est.
Subunit
1/100	santim
Symbol	د.م.
Coins	1, 5, 10, 20 santimat, ½, 1, 2, 5, and 10 dirham
Banknotes	10, 20, 50, 100, 200 dirham
Central bank	Bank Al-Maghrib
Website	www.bkam.ma

The dirham (Arabic: درهم, plural: درهمان , دراهم or درهما‎) 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. It is also the de facto currency in Western Sahara. While the dirham is a fully convertible currency, export of the local currency is prohibited by law.

History

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

The dirham was reintroduced in 1960. 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.

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.

Banknotes

The first notes denominated in dirham were overprints on earlier franc notes, in denominations of 50 dirham (on 5000 francs) and 100 dirham (on 10,000 francs). In 1965, new notes were issued for 5, 10 and 50 dirham. 100 dirham notes were introduced in 1970, followed by 200 dirham notes in 1991 and 20 dirham in 1996. 5 dirham notes were replaced by coins in 1980, with the same happening to 10 dirham notes in 1995.

Dirham Banknotes [2]
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	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	Hassan II	1987	1987/ca. 1991
200 dirhams	158 × 75 mm			Blue	Hassan II	Shellfish, a branch of coral, and an Arab fishing boat.	Hassan II	1987	ca. 1991
1996 Series
20 dirhams	130 × 68 mm			Brown-reddish	Hassan II	Wall fountain of the Hassan II Mosque	Hassan II	1996	1996
2002 Series
20 dirhams	140 × 70 mm			Violet	Mohammed VI	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	Mohammed VI and "100"	2002	2002
200 dirhams	158 × 78 mm	[[Image:|100px]]	[[Image:|100px]]	Blue	Mohammed VI and Hassan II	A window of the Hassan II Mosque	Mohammed VI and "200"	2002	2002
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 rial /rjal/, equivalent to 5 santimat and 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. 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 franc 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 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
• Economy of Western Sahara

References

External links

• Numismo

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