Bahraini dinar

Bahraini dinar
دينار بحريني  (Arabic)
ISO 4217 code	BHD
Monetary authority	Central Bank of Bahrain
Website	www.cbb.gov.bh
User(s)	Bahrain
Inflation	7%
Source	The World Factbook, 2008 est.
Pegged with	U.S. dollar = BD 0.376
Subunit
^1⁄1000	fils
Symbol	.د.ب (Arabic) or BD (Latin)
Coins	5, 10, 25, 50, 100, BD ^1⁄2 ( 500 fils )
Banknotes	BD ^1⁄2, BD 1, BD 5, BD 10, BD 20

The dinar (Arabic: دينار‎ Dīnār Baḥrēnī) (sign: .د.ب or BD; code: BHD) is the currency of Bahrain. It is divided into 1000 fils (فلس). The name dinar derives from the Roman denarius. The dinar was introduced in 1965, replacing the Gulf rupee at a rate of 10 rupees = 1 dinar. The Bahraini dinar is abbreviated .د.ب (Arabic) or BD (Latin). It is usually represented with three decimal places denoting the fils.

Coins

In 1965, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 fils. The 1, 5 and 10 fils were struck in bronze, with the others in cupro-nickel. The 1 fils coin was not produced after 1966 and no longer circulates. In 1992, brass replaced bronze in the 5 and 10 fils and a bimetallic 100 fils coin was introduced. A bimetallic 500 fils followed in 2000.

Note that the Central Bank of Bahrain discontinued the Bimetallic 500 fils after the revolution of Bahrain on 14 Feb 2011. In addition to this discontinuation, the pearl roundabout was destroyed as it was the place where the protesters demonstrated.

Coins of the Bahraini dinar
Image	Value	Diameter	Weight	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	First Minted Year
	1 fils	?? mm	?? g	Bronze	Palm tree	Value	1965
	5 fils	18 mm	?? g	Bronze	Palm tree	Value	1965
	10 fils	24 mm	?? g	Bronze	Palm tree	Value	1965
	25 fils	?? mm	?? g	Cupro-nickel	Palm tree	Value	1965
	50 fils	20 mm	?? g	Cupro-nickel	Palm tree	Value	1965
	100 fils	25 mm	?? g	Cupro-nickel	Palm tree	Value	1965
	5 fils	19 mm	2,50 g	Brass	Palm tree	Value	1992
	10 fils	21 mm	3.35 g	Brass	Palm tree	Value	1992
	25 fils	20 mm	2,35 g	Cupro-nickel	Dilmo Civilization seal	Value	1992
	50 fils	22 mm	3.5 g	Cupro-nickel	Boat (Dhow)	Value	1992
	100 fils	24 mm	6 g	Brass ring, cupro-nickel centre	Coat of Arms	Value	1992

Bahrain coins, obverse and reverse

For a wider history surrounding currency in the region, see The History of British Currency in the Middle East.

Banknotes

On October 16, 1965, the Bahrain Currency Board introduced notes in denominations of ¹⁄₄, ¹⁄₂, 1, 5 and 10 dinars; a 100-fils note was introduced on September 2, 1967.^[1] In 1973, the Bahrain Monetary Agency took over the issuance of paper money, and in 1979 it introduced a new family of notes dated 1973 in Arabic, with denominations of ¹⁄₂, 1, 5, 10 and 20 dinars. On September 7, 2006,^[2] the Bahrain Monetary Agency was renamed the Central Bank of Bahrain. On March 17, 2008, the Central Bank of Bahrain introduced a new family of notes reflecting Bahrain's heritage as well as its modern development. Saudi riyals are also acceptable in Bahrain, with the exception of the Saudi 500 riyal note which is only accepted in major supermarkets, airports and electronic shops.

4th series (154mm x 74mm)
Image		Value	Main Colour	Front Side	Back Side
		^1⁄2 dinar	Brown/Peach	Old Bahrain Court	Bahrain International Circuit
		1 dinar	Red	Al Hedya Al Khalifiya School (Bahrain first school)	Galloping Arabian Horses and the Sail and Pearl monument
		5 dinars	Blue	Shaikh Isa House in Muharraq and Riffa Fort	First oil well in Bahrain and Aluminum Bahrain (Alba)
		10 dinars	Green	Sheikh Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah (Bahrain King)	Shaikh Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa Causeway
		20 dinars	Brown/light blue	Sheikh Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah (Bahrain King)	Al Fateh Islamic Center

Fixed exchange rate

In December 1980, the dinar was officially pegged to the IMF's special drawing rights (SDRs). In practice, it is fixed at 1 U.S. dollar = BD 0.376, which translates to approximately 1 dinar = 2.65957 dollars^[3] and, consequently, almost 10 Saudi Arabian riyals. This rate was made official in 2001. Before Malta's adoption of the euro on 1 January 2008, it was the third-highest-valued currency unit after the Kuwaiti dinar and Maltese lira. After Malta adopted the euro, the dinar became the second highest-valued currency unit.

Current BHD 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:	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
From Currency.Wiki:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD

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

See also

• Gulf rupee
• Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf
• Economy of Bahrain

References

1. Linzmayer, Owen (2011). "Bahrain". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
2. Linzmayer, Owen (2011). "Bahrain". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
3. Exchange Rate Policy, Bahrain Monetary Agency Archived June 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.

• Krause, Chester L., and Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
• Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9.

External links

• Historical and current banknotes of Bahrain

Preceded by: Gulf rupee Ratio: 1 dinar = 10 rupees = 0.75 British pound	Currency of Bahrain 1965 –	Succeeded by: Current
	Currency of Abu Dhabi 1966 – 1973	Succeeded by: United Arab Emirates dirham Ratio: 1 dirham = 0.1 dinar