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currency
The dinar (Arabic: دينار جزائري, romanized: Dīnār Ǧazāʾirī; sign: DA; code: DZD) is the monetary currency of Algeria and it is subdivided into 100 centimes. Centimes are now obsolete due to their extremely low value.
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Text from the Wikipedia article “Algerian dinar”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The dinar (Arabic: دينار جزائري, romanized: Dīnār Ǧazāʾirī; sign: DA; code: DZD) is the monetary currency of Algeria and it is subdivided into 100 centimes. Centimes are now obsolete due to their extremely low value.
The name "dinar" is ultimately derived from the Roman denarius. The Arabic word santīm comes from the French "centime", since Algeria was under French administration from 1830 to 1962.
The dinar was introduced on 1 April 1964, replacing the Algerian new franc at par.
The official exchange rate set by the Bank of Algeria: Algerian Dinar to U.S. dollar is approximately 134 DZD per 1 US dollar.
Algeria operates a managed exchange rate system alongside a large parallel foreign exchange market.
Official exchange rates published by the Bank of Algeria value the euro at around 151 Algerian dinars and the US dollar at around 130 dinars, while parallel market rates observed in Algiers (particularly at Square Port-Saïd) reach approximately 280 dinars per euro and 238 dinars per US dollar, indicating a substantial divergence between official and informal exchange valuations.
In 1964, coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 centimes, and 1 dinar were introduced, with the 1, 2 and 5 centimes struck in aluminium, the 10, 20 and 50 centimes in aluminium bronze and the 1 dinar in cupro-nickel. The obverses showed the emblem of Algeria, while the reverses carried the values in Eastern Arabic numerals. In later decades, coins were issued sporadically with various commemorative subjects. However, the 1 and 2 centimes were not struck again, whilst the 5, 10 and 20 centimes were last struck in the 1980s.
In 1992, a new series of coins was introduced consisting of 1⁄4, 1⁄2, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dinars. A 200 dinar bi-metallic coin was issued in 2012 to commemorate Algeria's 50th anniversary of independence. The 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 dinar coins are bimetallic.
Coins in general circulation are 5 dinars and higher. Following the massive inflation which accompanied the slow transition to a more capitalist economy during the late 1990s, the centime and fractional dinar coins have dropped out of general circulation, whilst the 1 and 2 dinar coins are rarely used, as prices are rounded to the nearest 5 dinars. Nonetheless, prices are typically quoted in centimes in colloquial speech; thus a price of 100 dinars is read as "ten thousand" (عشر الاف).
The "first series" of dinar banknotes issued in 1964 consisted of banknotes in denominations of 5, 10, 50 and 100 dinars. In 1970, 500 dinar banknotes were added, followed by 1000 dinars in 1992.
The 100 dinar note is being replaced by coins. 200, 500, and 1000 dinar notes are in circulation. The 1998 dated 500 and 1000 dinar notes have an additional vertical holographic strip on obverse.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Algerian dinar”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.