Kuwaiti dinar

Kuwaiti dinar
دينار كويتي (Arabic)
1 dinar of 1994
ISO 4217 code	KWD
Central bank	Central Bank of Kuwait
Website	www.cbk.gov.kw
User(s)	Kuwait
Inflation	4.7%
Source	The World Factbook, 2011 est.
Subunit
1/1000	fils
Symbol	د.ك or K.D.
Coins
Freq. used	5, 10, 20, 50, 100 fils
Banknotes	¼, ½, 1, 5, 10, 20 dinars

The dinar (Arabic: دينار, ISO 4217 code KWD) is the currency of Kuwait. It is sub-divided into 1,000 fils.

History

The dinar was introduced in 1961 to replace the Gulf rupee. It was initially equivalent to one pound sterling. As the rupee was fixed at 1 shilling 6 pence, this resulted in a conversion rate of 13⅓ rupees to the dinar.

When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the Iraqi dinar replaced the Kuwaiti dinar as the currency and large quantities of banknotes were stolen by the invading forces. After liberation, the Kuwaiti dinar was restored as the country's currency and a new banknote series was introduced, allowing the previous notes, including those stolen, to be demonetized.

For a wider history surrounding currency in the region, see The History of British Currency in the Middle East.

Coins

The following coins were first introduced in 1961:

• 1 (١) fils (No longer issued)
• 5 (٥) fils
• 10 (١٠) fils
• 20 (٢٠) fils
• 50 (٥٠) fils
• 100 (١٠٠) fils

Banknotes

A 10 Kuwaiti Dinar banknote of the Central Bank of Kuwait.

To date five series of the Kuwaiti dinar banknote have been printed. The first series was issued following the pronouncement of the Kuwaiti Currency Law in 1960 which established the Kuwaiti Currency Board. This series was in circulation from 1 April 1961 to 1 February 1982 and consisted of denominations of ¼, ½, 1, 5 and 10 dinars.

After the creation of the Central Bank of Kuwait in 1969 as a replacement to the Kuwaiti Currency Board, new ¼, ½ and 10 dinar notes were issued from 17 November 1970, followed by the new 1 and 5 dinar notes of the second series on 20 April 1971.^[2] This second series was likewise withdrawn on 1 February 1982.

The third series was issued on 20 February 1980, after the accession to the throne of Emir Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, at that time in denominations of ¼, ½, 1, 5 and 10 dinar. A 20 dinar banknote was introduced on 9 February 1986. As a result of the state of emergency after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, this series was ruled invalid with effect from 30 September 1991. Significant quantities of these notes were stolen by Iraqi forces and some have appeared on the international numismatic market. The "Standard Catalog of World Paper Money" (A. Pick, Krause Publications) lists notes with the following serial number prefix denominators as being among those stolen:

After the liberation, a fourth series was issued on 24 March 1991 with the aims of replacing the previous withdrawn series as quickly as possible and guaranteeing the country's swift economic recovery. This fourth series was legal tender until 16 February 1995. Denominations were ¼, ½, 1, 5, 10 and 20 dinar.

The fifth series of Kuwaiti banknotes has been in use since 3 April 1994 and include high-tech security measures which have now become standard for banknotes. Denominations were as in the fourth series.

In both 1993 and 2001,the Central Bank of Kuwait issued commemorative 1 dinar polymer banknotes to celebrate its Liberation from Iraq. The first commemorative note, dated 26.02.1993 (February 26, 1993), was issued to celebrate the second anniversary of the Liberation. The front features the map of the State of Kuwait, the emblem of Kuwait and on the left and right side of the note is the list of nations that assisted in its Liberation, in both English and Arabic.^[3] The second commemorative note, dated 26.02.2001 (February 26, 2001), was issued to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Liberation. One feature from the note is an optically variable device (OVD) patch that shows a fingerprint, a reference to the victims of the invasion and occupation of Kuwait.^[4] Even though they were denominated as 1 dinar, both of the commemorative notes state that they were not legal tender.

Fixed exchange rate

Average Exchange Rate of Kuwait Dinar Against U.S. Dollar (Fils) ^[1]

From March 18, 1975 to January 4, 2003 the dinar was pegged to a weighted currency basket. From January 5, 2003 until May 20, 2007, the pegging was switched to 1 U.S. dollar = 0.29963 dinar with margins of ±3.5%.^[5] The central rate translates to approximately 1 dinar = 3.33745 dollars.

From June 16, 2007, the Kuwaiti dinar was re-pegged to a basket of currencies,^[6] and is now worth about US$3.609 (€2.686). It is the world's highest-valued currency unit.

See also

• Gulf rupee
• Economy of Kuwait

References

External links

• Images of banknotes

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