Moroccan Dirham
| Moroccan dirham | |
|---|---|
| درهم مغربي (Arabic) | |
| ISO 4217 | |
| Code | MAD |
| Denominations | |
| Subunit | |
| 1/100 | santim |
| Symbol | MAD |
| Banknotes | 20, 50, 100 & 200 dirhams |
| Coins | |
| Freq. used | 1, 10 & 20 santimat, ½, 1, 2, 5 & 10 dirhams |
| Rarely used | 5 santimat |
| Demographics | |
| User(s) |
 Morocco
|
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | Bank Al-Maghrib |
| Website | www |
| Valuation | |
| Inflation | 2% |
| Source | The World Factbook, 2007 est. |
The dirham (Arabic: درهم), plural: (Arabic: دراهم), 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.
Before the introduction of a modern coinage in 1882, Morocco issued copper coins denominated in falus, silver coins denominated in dirham & gold coins denominated in benduqi. From 1882, the dirham became a subdivision of the Moroccan rial, with 50 Mazunas = 10 dirham = 1 rial.
When most of Morocco became a French protectorate in 1912 it switched to the Moroccan franc. The dirham was reintroduced on 16 October 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.
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. In 2011, a new series of coins has been issued, with the 5 and 10 dirham coin utilizing a latent image as a security feature.
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Wikipedia