Libyan dinar

The dinar (Arabic: دينار‎) is the currency of Libya. Its ISO 4217 code is "LYD". The dinar is subdivided into 1000 dirham (درهم). It was introduced in 1971 and replaced the pound at par. It is issued by the Central Bank of Libya, which also supervises the banking system and regulates credit. In 1972, the Libyan Arab Foreign Bank was established to deal with overseas investment.

Coins

Until 1975, old coins denominated in milliemes (equal to the dirham) circulated. In 1975, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dirham which bore the coat of arms of the Federation of Arab Republics. These were followed in 1979 by a second series of coins, in the same denominations, which bore a design of a horseman in place of the arms. ¼ and ½ dinar coins were issued in 2001 and 2004, respectively. In 2009, new 50, 100 dirhams, ¼ and ½ dinar coins were issued. 1, 5, 10, and 20 dirham coins are rarely used as units of exchange. However, they still retain their status as legal tenders.

Banknotes

In 1971, banknotes were introduced in denominations of ¼, ½, 1, 5 and 10 dinar. 20 dinar notes were added in 2002. On August 27, 2008, the Central Bank of Libya announced a new 50 dinar note and that was scheduled to enter circulation on August 31, 2008.^[1] The note is already in circulation and features Muammar Gaddafi on the obverse. Scans of the new note can be found here.

The subjects depicted on the banknotes have not changed since series 2 except for the portrait of Muammar Gaddafi which became the new obverse design of the 1 dinar note in series 4.

After the 2011 revolution overthrew Gaddafi's government, Central Bank Governor Gasem Azzoz said that notes with the ousted strongman's face on them were still in circulation and would be used by the National Transitional Council to pay the salaries of public servants and government employees. The bank is holding a contest for redesigned banknotes that will likely eventually replace the Gaddafi-emblazoned bills.^[2]

Current series

Popular nomenclature and denominations

The Libyan dinar is commonly called jni, [ʒni] (western Libyan Dialect) or jneh [ʒneh] (eastern Libyan dialect). The name dinar is rarely used outside official circles. The authorized fractional unit, the dirham, is never mentioned in everyday conversation. Garsh - a variant of the word qirsh - is employed instead, with 1 garsh = 10 dirhams. One thousand dinars is stylishly called a kilo [kiːlu]. Similarly, five dinar notes and ten dinar notes are sometimes nicknamed, in the younger generation male slang, faifa [faːifa] and tsena [tseːna] respectively, which are playful feminizations of the English words five and ten, but may also be remnants of British slang words 'fiver' and 'tenner' for five and ten pound notes respectively. Libyan currency is nicknamed by Libyans ʿOmar El-Mokhtar after the Libyan freedom fighter who is featured on the obverse of the 10 dinar note.

See also

• Economy of Libya

References

External links