The first denar from North Macedonia 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.
Etymology
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.
First denar (1992–1993)
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.
History
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 monetary independence from Yugoslavia. On 26 April the national bank was established and the denar 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.
Coins
No coins were issued for the first denar.
Banknotes
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.
Production
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 are reflected in the notes themselves. The paper, which was purchased from Slovenia, proved to be of poor quality and lacking adequate security. 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 National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia.
Design
The notes were designed by a young employee of the "11 October" printer. He had only one week to design them and not a very large budget. That is why the six lowest denominations are identical with the exception of their colours. They all feature a man and two women picking tobacco leaves on the front, with the back devoted to the Ilinden monument in Kruševo, which, according to the bank, “expresses the eternal fight of citizens of Macedonia for life in peace and freedom.”
In May 1993, coins for the second denar were introduced in denominations of 50 deni, 1, 2, and 5 denari. The initial design was performed by Dimche Boshkoski and Snezhana Atanasova. 10 and 50 denari coins were introduced in November 2008. The 50 deni coin was withdrawn in 2013; due to its low mintage it was practically never seen in circulation. Since 1996 a large number of commemorative coins for collectors has been issued. A listing can be found on the National Bank of Macedonia website. Coins are minted at the Suvenir factory in Samokov, a village near Makedonski Brod.
FAO coinage (1995)
In 1995 circulation coins were struck in honor of the United Nations F.A.O programme.
Banknotes
In 1993, the new denar was issued in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 denari. The 20 denari was only issued in this first series of notes. In 1996, 1000 and 5000 denari notes were added. In 2016, 200 and 2000 denari notes were issued, while the NationalBank of the Republic of Macedonia began withdrawing the 5000 denari banknote from circulation as part of the National Bank's plans to re-balance the current structure of the notes in circulation. In 2017, the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia unveiled its current banknotes, 10 and 50 denari, printed as polymer banknotes, and were issued into circulation on May 15.
