The Yugoslav dinar was the currency of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2003) and continued briefly into the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro before being replaced at par by the Serbian dinar in 2003 and the Euro in Montenegro in 2002. During this eleven-year span, hyperinflation forced four distinct currency revaluations, each producing its own coin series: the reformed dinar (1992–1993), the October dinar (1993, six months), the January dinar (January 1994, 24 days), and the novi dinar (from 24 January 1994), which stabilised once pegged to the Deutsche Mark. The "novi" prefix was dropped in 2000; from then until 2003 the coins read simply "dinar". All Yugoslav-era circulation coins of this period were struck at the Institute for Manufacturing Banknotes and Coins (Zavod za izradu novčanica i kovanog novca, or ZIN) in Topčider, Belgrade, the same mint that today produces the Serbian dinar. No coin from any of these four currencies remains legal tender: the para coins were demonetised on 1 January 2006 and 1 January 2008, the 1 dinar on 1 January 2007 and 2010, and all earlier (pre-novi-dinar) issues were demonetised within months of their replacement.
Scope note: this page currently documents only the final phase of Yugoslav coinage (1992–2002). Earlier eras, namely the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes / Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1991), will be added in future revisions.
Coins by year (1992–2002)
Legend: p = para, D = dinar. /CuNi = cupronickel-zinc alloy (1994 January dinar). /Br = brass (1994 novi dinar, KM#165). 500D in 1993 was struck but withheld from circulation and largely remelted (greyed in source matrix). Empty cells = denomination not issued that year.
| Year | 1p | 5p | 10p | 50p | 1D | 2D | 5D | 10D | 50D | 100D | 500D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | — | — | — | — | 180 | 181 | 182 | — | — | — | — |
| 2000 | — | — | — | 179 | 180 | 181 | 182 | — | — | — | — |
| 1999 | — | — | — | 174 | 168 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998 | — | — | 173 | 174 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1997 | — | — | 173 | 174 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1996 | — | 164.2 | 173 | 174 | 168 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1995 | — | 164.1 | 162.2 | 163a | 165 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1994 | 161 | 164.1 | 162.1 | 163 | 160/CuNi + 165/Br | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1993 | — | — | — | — | 154 | 155 | 156 | 157 | 158 | 159 | (160 not released) |
| 1992 | — | — | — | — | 149 | 150 | 151 | 152 | 153 | — | — |
Numbers shown are KM# (Krause Standard Catalog). The 1994 1D cell contains two different coins: KM#160, struck briefly in early January 1994 for the January dinar (24-day currency), and KM#165, the first novi dinar 1D issued 29 January 1994 after the peg to the Deutsche Mark. KM#160 for 500 dinara reformed-dinar was struck but withheld from circulation and largely remelted; surviving examples exist only as pre-circulation specimens.
Specifications (1992–2002)
| KM# | Year(s) | Denomination | Currency | Metal | Ø | Weight | Edge | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 149 | 1992 | 1 dinar | Reformed dinar | brass | 18 mm | 3.10 g | plain | "SR Jugoslavija" / SRJ legend |
| 150 | 1992 | 2 dinara | Reformed dinar | brass | 20 mm | 3.80 g | plain | |
| 151 | 1992 | 5 dinara | Reformed dinar | brass | 22 mm | 5.05 g | plain | |
| 152 | 1992 | 10 dinara | Reformed dinar | brass | 24 mm | 6.20 g | plain | |
| 153 | 1992 | 50 dinara | Reformed dinar | brass | 27 mm | 8.50 g | plain | |
| 154 | 1993 | 1 dinar | October dinar | nickel-brass | 18 mm | 3.10 g | plain | "Monogram on shield" series |
| 155 | 1993 | 2 dinara | October dinar | nickel-brass | 20 mm | 3.80 g | plain | |
| 156 | 1993 | 5 dinara | October dinar | nickel-brass | 22 mm | 5.05 g | plain | |
| 157 | 1993 | 10 dinara | October dinar | nickel-brass | 24 mm | 6.20 g | plain | |
| 158 | 1993 | 50 dinara | October dinar | nickel-brass | 27 mm | 8.50 g | plain | |
| 159 | 1993 | 100 dinara | October dinar | brass | 30 mm | 11.50 g | plain | Highest October-dinar denomination issued |
| 160 | 1994 | 1 dinar | January dinar | brass | 18 mm | 3.10 g | plain | 24-day currency, January 1994 |
| 161 | 1994 | 1 para | Novi dinar | brass | 17.1 mm | 2.80 g | plain | Smallest denomination ever in novi dinar |
| 162.1 | 1994 | 10 para | Novi dinar | nickel-brass | 18 mm | 3.38 g | plain | First "small" type |
| 162.2 | 1995 | 10 para | Novi dinar | brass | 19 mm | 3.38 g | plain | Larger redesign, JNB logo |
| 163 | 1994 | 50 para | Novi dinar | nickel-brass | 20 mm | 3.79 g | plain | First "small" type |
| 163a | 1995 | 50 para | Novi dinar | brass | 21 mm | 4.13 g | plain | Larger redesign, JNB logo |
| 164.1 | 1994–1995 | 5 para | Novi dinar | brass | 21 mm | 4.30 g | plain | Larger size |
| 164.2 | 1996 | 5 para | Novi dinar | brass | 17 mm | 2.78 g | plain | Reduced size |
| 165 | 1994–1995 | 1 (novi) dinar | Novi dinar | nickel-brass | 22 mm | 4.59 g | plain | JNB logo, first novi dinar 1D |
| 168 | 1996, 1999 | 1 (novi) dinar | Novi dinar | nickel-brass | 20 mm | 4.10 g | plain | "With eagle" redesign |
| 173 | 1996–1998 | 10 para | Novi dinar | brass | 19.2 mm | 3.36 g | plain | "With eagle" redesign |
| 174 | 1996–1999 | 50 para | Novi dinar | brass | 21 mm | 4.28 g | plain | "With eagle" redesign |
| 179 | 2000 | 50 para | Novi dinar | brass | 18 mm | 3.30 g | plain | "Novi" dropped from coin legend |
| 180 | 2000, 2002 | 1 dinar | Novi dinar | nickel-brass | 20 mm | 4.40 g | plain | Final 1D, FR Yugoslavia |
| 181 | 2000, 2002 | 2 dinara | Novi dinar | nickel-brass | 22 mm | 5.05 g | plain | First 2D since 1993 |
| 182 | 2000, 2002 | 5 dinara | Novi dinar | nickel-brass | 24 mm | 6.50 g | plain | First 5D since 1993 |
Specifications combined from Numista and the National Bank of Serbia (successor central bank). Where the central bank no longer publishes data on demonetised coins, Numista is the primary source.
Notes
- Why so many coin series in eleven years. Yugoslavia experienced the second-worst hyperinflation in recorded history during 1992–1994 (peaking at 313 million percent per month in January 1994). The National Bank revalued the dinar four times in 26 months: the Reformed dinar (1 July 1992, ratio 1:10), the October dinar (1 October 1993, ratio 1:1,000,000), the January dinar (1 January 1994, ratio 1:1,000,000,000), and the Novi dinar (24 January 1994, pegged to DEM at 1:1, ratio 1:13,000,000 against the January dinar). Each revaluation made the previous coins worthless within weeks; only the novi dinar stabilised, surviving until the 2003 Serbian dinar reform.
- The 1994 transition (
/CuNiand/Br). The 1994 row contains coins from two different currencies. KM#160 (brass) is the January dinar 1-dinar coin, struck and released in early January 1994 for what was meant to be a long-term currency. After 24 days the January dinar was abandoned. KM#165 (nickel-brass), issued 29 January 1994, is the first 1-dinar coin of the novi dinar, the stabilised successor. The notation in the matrix preserves this distinction; the two coins are physically distinct and both exist in collector hands. - The 1993 500-dinar that never was. KM#160 was assigned to a 500-dinara reformed-dinar coin struck in brass during the October dinar reform. The denomination was rendered worthless by hyperinflation before the coins could be distributed; the National Bank withheld them from circulation and melted the bulk of the run. Surviving specimens exist only as pattern strikes or unreleased examples in numismatic collections. This is why 500D appears greyed in the matrix.
- Mintage figures. Mintage figures for most denominations are documented in Ranko Mandić's Catalog of Coins of Yugoslavia and Yugoslavian Lands 1700–1994 and in Krause; the National Bank itself does not publish them. Examples: 1 dinar 1993 (KM#154), 20,249,000 pieces; 1 novi dinar 1994–1995 (KM#165), 58,114,000 total; 1 novi dinar 1996, 1999 (KM#168), 101,808,000 total; 50 para 1994 (KM#163), 45,013,000.
- No die varieties. The major catalogues do not recognise die varieties for any of these coins. Minor errors exist (e.g. filled letters on some 1996 1-dinar reverses) but are not catalogued separately.
- "Novi" dropped in 2000. Starting with the 2000 series, the National Bank removed the word "novi" (new) from coin legends. The currency itself remained the novi dinar in international ISO terms (YUM); the change was purely cosmetic and signalled that the currency had stabilised enough to drop the word that distinguished it from the previous failed dinars.
- Demonetisation timeline. The 1992 reformed dinar coins were demonetised in 1993. The 1993 October dinar coins were demonetised within months. The 1994 January dinar coin (KM#160) was demonetised on 24 January 1994. The novi dinar / dinar coins of 1994–2002 were carried over at par when the Serbian dinar replaced the Yugoslav dinar in 2003, but were progressively demonetised: 1 January 2006 (most para and earlier 1D types), 1 January 2007 (1 dinar KM#168), 1 January 2008 (50 para KM#179), 1 January 2010 (final 1 dinar KM#180).
- Mint. All coins of all four 1992–2002 currencies were struck at the Institute for Manufacturing Banknotes and Coins (ZIN, short for Zavod za izradu novčanica i kovanog novca) in Topčider, Belgrade. The same mint and the same building continue to strike today's Serbian dinar coins.
- Earlier Yugoslav coinage. The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1918–1929), Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1929–1941), and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1991) produced extensive coinage that will be added to this page in future revisions. The Kingdom period used the dinar divided into 100 para; the SFRY used the dinar with multiple revaluations (the 1965 "hard dinar" and 1990 "convertible dinar" reforms most notably).