United Arab Emirates dirham

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United Arab Emirates dirham
درهم إماراتي (Arabic)
ISO 4217 code AED
Central bank United Arab Emirates Central Bank
 Website www.centralbank.ae
Official user(s) United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates
Unofficial user(s) Oman Oman
Inflation 2.5%
 Source The World Factbook, 2011 est.
Pegged with U.S. dollar = 3.6725 dirhams
Subunit
 1/100 fils
Symbol د.إ[citation needed]
Coins 25, 50 fils, 1 dirham
Banknotes 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 dirhams

The dirham (Arabic: درهم‎‎) (sign: د.إ; code: AED) is the currency of the United Arab Emirates. The ISO 4217 code (currency abbreviation) for the United Arab Emirates dirham is AED. Unofficial abbreviations include DH or Dhs. The dirham is subdivided into 100 fils (فلس).

History

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For a wider history surrounding currency in the region, see British currency in the Middle East.

The name Dirham derives from the Greek word Drachmae, literally meaning "handful", through Latin.[1] Due to centuries of old trade and usage of the currency, dirham survived through the Ottoman regime.

The United Arab Emirates dirham was introduced 19 May 1973. It replaced the Qatar and Dubai riyal at par. The Qatar and Dubai riyal had circulated since 1966 in all of the emirates except Abu Dhabi, where the dirham replaced the Bahraini dinar at 1 dirham = 0.1 dinar. Before 1966, all the emirates that were to form the UAE used the Gulf rupee. As in Qatar, the emirates briefly adopted the Saudi riyal during the transition from the Gulf rupee to the Qatar and Dubai riyal.

Coins

In 1973, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 fils, and 1 dirham. The 1, 5 and 10 fils are struck in bronze, with the higher denominations in cupro-nickel. The fils coins were same size and composition as the corresponding Qatar and Dubai dirham coins. In 1995, the 50 fils and 1 dirham coins were reduced in size, with the new 50 fils being curve-equilateral-heptagonal shaped.

The value and numbers on the coins are written in Eastern Arabic numerals and the text is in Arabic. The 1, 5 and 10 fils coins are rarely used in everyday life, so all amounts are rounded up or down to the nearest multiples of 25 fils. The 1 fil coin is a rarity and does not circulate significantly. In making change there is a risk of confusing the old 50 fils coin for the modern 1 dirham coin because the coins are almost the same size.

Since 1976 the Currency Board of the United Arab Emirates has minted several commemorative coins celebrating different events and rulers of the United Arab Emirates. For details, see Commemorative coins of the United Arab Emirates dirham.

Issues with fraud

By August 2006 it became publicly known that the Philippine one peso coin is the same size as one dirham.[2] As 1 peso is only worth 8 fils, this has led to vending machine fraud in the U.A.E. Pakistan's 5 rupee coin, the Omani 50 Baisa coin and the Moroccan 1 dirham are also the same size as the U.A.E. one dirham coin.

A falcon watermark is present on all dirham notes to prevent fraud.

Banknotes

On 20 May 1973, the U.A.E. Currency Board introduced notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 dirhams; a 1000 dirham note was issued on 3 January 1976.[3] A second series of note was introduced in 1982 which omitted the 1 and 1000 dirham notes. 500 dirham notes were introduced in 1983, followed by 200 dirham in 1989. 1000 dirham notes were reintroduced in 2000. Banknotes are currently available in denominations of 5 (brown), 10 (green), 20 (light blue), 50 (purple), 100 (pink), 200 (green/brown), 500 (navy blue) and 1000 (greenish blue) dirhams.

The obverse texts are written in Arabic with numbers in Eastern Arabic numerals; the reverse texts are in English with numbers in Arabic numerals. The 200 dirham denomination is scarce as it was only produced in 1989; any circulating today come from bank stocks. The 200 dirham denomination has since been reissued and is now in circulation since late May 2008 – it has been reissued in a different colour; Yellow/Brown to replace the older Green/Brown.[4]

The United Arab Emirates Central Bank has released a new 50 dirham note. The security thread is a 3-mm wide, color-shifting windowed security thread with demetalized UAE 50, and it bears the new coat of arms which was adopted on 22 March 2008.

1982 series
Image Value Main Color Dimensions (mm) Description
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse
[1] 5 dirhams Brown 157 × 67 Sharjah Central Souq also known as Islamic Souq, the Blue Souq or the central market (souq meaning market in Arabic) Imam Salem Al Mutawa Mosque, which was formerly known as Al Jamaa mosque in Sharjah
[2] 10 dirhams Green 147 × 62 The khanjar (Arabic: خنجر) is the traditional dagger of Oman a pilot farm
[3] 20 dirhams Blue 149 × 63 The front face of the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club Traditional trading dhow (called sama'a)
[4] 50 dirhams Purple 151 × 64 an oryx (غزال) Al Jahli Fort, a pre-Islamic fort in Al Ain
[5] 100 dirhams Pink 155 × 66 Fahidi Fort Dubai World Trade Centre building
[6] 200 dirhams Green / Brown 157 × 67 the Zayed Sports City and the Sharia court building The United Arab Emirates Central Bank building
[7] 500 dirhams Navy blue 159 × 68 Saker falcon (Falco cherrug) The Jumeirah Mosque, one of the best known mosques in the UAE
[8] 1000 dirhams Greenish-blue 163 × 70 Al Hosn Palace Abu Dhabi Corniche

Exchange rates

On January 28, 1978, the dirham was officially pegged to the IMF's special drawing rights (SDRs).[5] In practice, it is pegged to the U.S. dollar for most of the time.[6] Since November 1997, the dirham has been pegged to the 1 U.S. dollar = 3.6725 dirhams,[7] which translates to approximately 1 dirham = 0.272294 dollar.

Current AED exchange rates
From Google Finance: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR
From Yahoo! Finance: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR
From XE: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR
From OANDA: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR
From fxtop.com: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR
From Currency.Wiki: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR

Note: Rates obtained from these websites may contradict with pegged rate mentioned above

See also

References

  1. ↑ Merriam Webster Dictionary entry retrieved on 2009-12-29
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ url=http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/08/05/24/10215816.html
  5. ↑ Dynamic Growth of the UAE Monetary and Banking Sector, Central Bank of the UAE
  6. ↑ Tables of modern monetary history: Asia
  7. ↑ Statistical Bulletin, Quarterly July – Sep. 2005, Central Bank of the UAE

External links

Preceded by:
Qatari and Dubai riyal
Location: Trucial States except for Abu Dhabi
Reason: formed United Arab Emirates (in 1971)
Ratio: at par		 Currency of United Arab Emirates
1973 –		 Succeeded by:
Current
Preceded by:
Bahraini dinar
Location: Abu Dhabi
Reason: formed United Arab Emirates (in 1971)
Ratio: 1 dirham = 0.1 dinar
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