Libyan dinar

The dinar (Arabic: دينار‎ dīnār) is the currency of Libya. Its ISO 4217 code is "LYD". The dinar is subdivided into 1000 dirham (درهم). It was introduced in September 1971 and replaced the pound at par.[1] It is issued by the Central Bank of Libya, which also supervises the banking system and regulates credit. In 1972, the Libyan Arab Foreign Bank was established to deal with overseas investment. Ali Mohammed Salem, deputy governor of Central Bank of Libya stated the exchange rate of Libyan dinar would be pegged to special drawing rights for one to three years, according to an interview to Reuters on 27 December 2011.[2]

Libyan dinar
دينار ليبي (Arabic)
ISO 4217
Code	LYD
Denominations
Subunit
​^1⁄1000	dirham
Symbol	LD and ل.د
Banknotes	1, 5, 10, 20, 50 dinars
Coins	50, 100 dirhams, ¼, ½ dinar
Demographics
User(s)	Libya
Issuance
Central bank	Central Bank of Libya
Website	www.cbl.gov.ly
Valuation
Inflation	6.1%
Source	The World Factbook, 2012 est.

Coins

Until 1975, old coins denominated in milliemes (equal to the dirham) circulated. In 1975, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dirhams which bore the coat of arms of the Federation of Arab Republics. These were followed in 1979 by a second series of coins, in the same denominations, which bore a design of a horseman in place of the arms. ¼ and ½ dinar coins were issued in 2001 and 2004, respectively. In 2009, new 50, 100 dirhams, ¼ and ½ dinar coins were issued. 1, 5, 10, and 20 dirham coins are rarely used as units of exchange. However, they still retain their status as legal tenders.

In 2013 and 2014, the Central Bank of Libya issued ¼ and ½ dinar coins and 50 and 100 dirham coins.[3][4][5]

Current Libyan dinar coins
Image	Value	Composition	Diameter	Weight	Thickness	Edge	Issued
	50 dirhams	Copper-nickel-plated steel	23 mm	5.1 g	1.77 mm	Reeded	2014
	100 dirhams	Copper-nickel-plated steel	26 mm	6.54 g	1.9 mm	Plain	2014
	¼ dirhams	Nordic gold	26 mm	6.55 g	2 mm	Reeded	2014
	½ dirhams	Bi-metallic nordic gold center in copper-nickel ring	27 mm	7.05 g	1.9 mm	Reeded	2014

Banknotes

In 1971, banknotes were introduced in denominations of ¼, ½, 1, 5 and 10 dinar. On May 15, 1980, new banknotes were issued for the five and ten dinar denominations (worth, at the time, £7 and £14, or $16 and $32) and Libyan citizens were allowed one week to exchange their existing notes at the Central State Bank branches, after which only the old 5 and 10 dinar notes would be worthless. [6] Persons making the exchange, however, were informed that only 1,000 dinars worth of new notes would be allowed per customer, a move that "effectively wiped out the savings of the middle-class as well as the hoarded cash of the black marketeers" and that "brought a windfall of £1.5 billion to the cash-starved Treasury". After a public uproar, President Muammar Gadaffi announced on June 11 that although the seized money would not be confiscated or invested without full consultation with the 167 local "People's Congresses" in Libya. [7]

Notes of 20 dinar were added in 2002. On August 27, 2008, the Central Bank of Libya announced a new 50 dinar note and that was scheduled to enter circulation on August 31, 2008.[8] The note was already in circulation and featured Muammar Qaddafi on the obverse.

The subjects depicted on the banknotes have not changed since series 2 except for the portrait of Muammar Qaddafi which became the new obverse design of the 1 dinar note in series 4.

After the 2011 revolution overthrew Gaddafi's government, Central Bank Governor Gasem Azzoz said that notes with the ousted strongman's face on them were still in circulation and would be used by the National Transitional Council to pay the salaries of public servants and government employees. The bank is holding a contest for redesigned banknotes that will likely eventually replace the Gaddafi-emblazoned bills.[9]

The central Bank started withdrawing the 50-Dinar note on January 14, 2012. Libyans have until March 15 to hand the note in to banks. Issam Buajila, the media manager of the central bank said that the 1 and 20 Dinar notes will be withdrawn from circulation soon.[10] Omar Elkaber, governor of the central bank, stated that the bank has already started printing new notes.[11]

The Central Bank of Libya has issued a revised 10-dinar banknote with revised features, one example is the removal of the reference of the Gaddafi era "Jamahiriya" from upper right back, plus the use of English on the notes for the first time in two decades. Furthermore, the serial number prefix system has apparently been reset to "1". Two versions of the revised 10-dinar banknote were issued, one with the central bank's name rendered with initial-capitals, which were printed by De La Rue of the U.K. and the other with the central bank's name in all capital letters were printed by Oberthur Technologies of France. Another notable differences for the two notes is both the holographic patch, the symbols on the top left corner on the notes and the date. The De La Rue version is identical to its previous issue, but the only notable difference is the serial number prefix, identified as "7A". The Oberthur Technologies issue has a different holographic patch, the addition of the crescent and star symbol on the top left corner of the note, the serial number prefix as "1" and the date 17.02.2011 (February 17, 2011, the date of the 2011 Libyan revolution and civil war) added below.[12][13]

A revised 5-dinar banknote was issued with altered features similar to the revised 10-dinar banknote. The English text has replaced the Arabic text on the back, the removal of the Gaddafi era "Jamahiriya" from the front and upper right back of the note, and the Gaddafi era falcon crest has been removed from the monument to the Battle of Al-Hani.[14]

On February 17, 2013, on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Libyan civil war, the Central Bank of Libya issued a 1 dinar banknote, its first issue following the 2011 Libyan revolution and civil war. The front of the note depicts Anti-Gaddafi protesters with the flag of the Libyan rebels. The back of the note depicts the flag of Libya and peace doves.[15]

On March 31, 2013, the Central Bank of Libya issued a 20 dinar banknote. The predominantly orange-colored note features a school in Ghadames on the front and the Al-Ateeq mosque and the oasis of Oujla on the back.[16]

In June 2013, the Central Bank of Libya issued a 50 dinar banknote. The green-colored note features the Italian lighthouse in Benghazi on the front and the Rock formation in the Tadrart Acacus mountains on the back. This is the first note in Libya to utilize Crane's "Motion" thread.[17]

Banknote Series of the Libyan dinar
Series	Denominations	Colours	Issued Dates	Note
1	¼, ½, 1, 5 and 10 dinars	Orange, purple, blue, olive and grey	1971–1972
2		All green	1980–1981
3		Green as the dominant colour, with brown, purple, blue, light green and multicoloured.	1984
4		Multicoloured	1988 –ca. 1990	English text on ¼, ½, and 5 dinars
4, revised		Slight change	ca. 1991–1993	English text on ¼, ½, and 5 dinars note was removed
5	¼, ½, 1, 5, 10 and 20 dinars	Multicoloured	2002
6	1, 5 and 10 dinars	Blue, purple and green	2004	Easily visible foil (1 and 5 dinars) or hologram (10 dinars) on upper left on the obverse as the new anti-counterfeit device
7	1, 5, 10, 20 (Series 2), 50 (Series 1) dinars	Blue, red and green	2008–2009	Reworked designs and enhanced security features
7A	5 and 10 dinars	Red (5 dinars), Green (10 dinars)	2011-2012	Identical to the Series 7 issues, but with the removal of the references to the Gaddafi era "Jamahiriya"
1 (2013-present)	1, 5, 10, 20, 50 dinars	Multicolored	2013-present	First series of banknotes after the 2011 Libyan revolution
2 (2018)	1 dinar	Blue	2018-present	First banknote of the Libyan dinar to be issued on polymer substrate, to commemorate the 8th anniversary of the 2011 Libyan Revolution

Current series

Current Series
Image		Value	Main Colour	Description
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse
		1 Dinar	Purple	Anti-Gaddafi protesters	Flag of Libya and peace doves
		5 Dinars	Brown	Ottoman Clock Tower	Zeus Temple in Cyrene
		10 Dinars	Blue	Omar al-Mukhtar	Al Mukhtar horsemen
		20 Dinars	Orange	Al Ateeq mosque in Oujlah	Traditional school in Ghadames
		50 Dinars	Green	Italian Lighthouse of Sede Khrebeech	Stone arch in Tadrart Acacus

Popular nomenclature and denominations

The Libyan dinar is commonly called jni, [ʒni] (western Libyan Dialect) or jneh [ʒneh] (eastern Libyan dialect), derived from the name of British Guinea. The name dinar is rarely used outside official circles. The authorized fractional unit, the dirham, is never mentioned in everyday conversation. Garsh - a variant of the word qirsh - is employed instead, with 1 garsh = 10 dirhams. One thousand dinars is stylishly called a kilo [kiːlu]. Similarly, five dinar notes and ten dinar notes are sometimes nicknamed, in the younger generation male slang, faifa [faːifa] and tsena [tseːna] respectively, which are playful feminizations of the English words five and ten, but may also be remnants of British slang words 'fiver' and 'tenner' for five and ten pound notes respectively. Libyan currency is nicknamed by Libyans ʿOmar El-Mokhtar after the Libyan freedom fighter who is featured on the obverse of the 10 dinar note.

Eastern Libyan dinar

Since 2016, the Central Bank of Libya allied with the House of Representatives and issued its own Libyan dinar, with banknotes for 20 and 50 dinars and a 1 dinar coin, which was printed and coined by Goznak in Russia. They were issued in response to a shortage of cash in the eastern half of the country, reflecting the disunity of Libya that has two rival governments in the east and west.[18][19][20]

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

See also

• Economy of Libya

References

1. Linzmayer, Owen (2013). "Libya". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com.
2. "Libyan Islamic banking law seen in March". Business Recorder. 27 December 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
3. Libya 1/4 dinar 2014 - New series World Coin News (worldcoinnews.blogspot.com). December 9, 2013. Retrieved on 2014-06-30.
4. Libya 1/2 dinar 2014 - Real scan World Coin News (worldcoinnews.blogspot.com). June 30, 2014. Retrieved on 2014-06-30.
5. Libya 50 and 100 dirhams 2014 - New series World Coin News (worldcoinnews.blogspot.com). December 15, 2014. Retrieved on 2014-12-16.
6. "Libya Writhing Under Qaddafi's Social Revolution", The New York Times, August 22, 1980, pA2
7. "Gadafy bows to critics", The Guardian (London), June 13, 1980, p8
8. (in Arabic) Central Bank of Libya issues a new 50 Dinars banknote-مصرف ليبيا المركزي يصدر ورقة نقدية جديدة من فئة الخمسين دينارا , Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Agency, retrieved August 28, 2008
9. Birsel, Robert (1 September 2011). "Dinars from heaven as Britain flies banknotes to Libya". Reuters. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
10. "ibya withdraws notes bearing Kadhafi image". AFP. 14 January 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
11. Holmes, Oliver (13 January 2012). "Libyan central bank starts withdrawing old currency". Reuters. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
12. Libya new 10-dinar note confirmed, BanknoteNews.com. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
13. Libya new 10-dinar note reported BanknoteNews.com. Retrieved 2012-06-28.
14. Libya new 5-dinar note confirmed BanknoteNews.com. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
15. Libya new 1-dinar note confirmed BanknoteNews.com. February 27, 2013. Retrieved on 2013-03-01.
16. Libya new 20-dinar note to be issued 31.03.2013 BanknoteNews.com. March 23, 2013. Retrieved on 2013-03-28.
17. Libya new 50-dinar note confirmed BanknoteNews.com. June 16, 2013. Retrieved on 2013-06-18.
18. Eastern Libyan central bank launches its own coins made in Russia, Reuters, 20 October, 2017. Retrieved on 2018-11-06.
19. More Russia-printed dinars arrive, The Libya Herald, 5 May 2017. Retrieved on 2018-11-06.
20. East Libya 1 dinar coin Numista (en.numista.com). Retrieved on 2019-05-26.

External links

Libyan dinar

Preceded by: Libyan pound Reason: Revolution (in 1969) Ratio: at par	Currency of Libya 1971 –	Succeeded by: Current