The Currency of Maldives is Rufiyaa, (introduced in 1947). The rufiyaa is divided into 100 laari.
History
Boli
Cowry shells (''Cypraea moneta''), or ''boli'', were the first known medium of exchange used in the
Maldives
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
. Various writers and travellers have in the past recorded the country's trade in these money shells, which were used as a medium of exchange in parts of
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
and
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. In the past, cowry were actually cultivated in the Maldives. When
Moroccan traveler and historian
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...
visited this country, feojedfe
Dutch in
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, continued until the late 19th century, when it was used mostly as
ballast for sailing vessels.
Dhigu laari
According to history, the first ''dhigu laari'' was struck in the Maldives, during the reign of Sultan Ibrahim III ibn Ghazi Muhammed (1585–1607), son of the hero Sultan Ghazi Muhammed Thakurufa'anu Akbar al-'Azam. Dhigu laari or larin, which owes its name to Lar, in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
, where it was originally struck, was one of the standard currencies of the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
in the late 16th century. The dhigu laari is actually a long piece of silver, about three inches in length, doubled over and stamped with the name of the sultan, in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
.
Loa laari
''Loa laari'' or ''laari fothi'' ("circular coin") was first struck by
Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar I (1648–1687). The first coins were of
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
and fairly coarse. Later, coins of
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
and
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
were put into circulation.
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
coins were also struck by Sultan Hassan Nooraddin (1779–1799). Said to be the finest struck at the Maldive mint, the two denominations of gold coins issued by Sultan Hassan Nooraddin, known as the ''mohori'' and ''bai mohori'', were never put into circulation.
Today
The Maldivian unit of currency is the
rufiyaa (
ISO 4217
ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines alpha codes and numeric codes for the representation of currencies and provides information about the relationships between individual cu ...
code MVR, symbol ''Rf.''), introduced in 1947. The rufiyaa is divided into 100
laari. On 1 February 2009, the exchange rate with the
US dollar
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
was US$1.00 = MVR12.80. On 10 April 2011, the Government announced a limited float of the currency within a band of 20% from the previous exchange rate of 12.80. Due to short supply of US Dollars, the official rate quoted by all banks as on 10 May stands as follows: Buy Rate USD 1.00 = MVR 14.42; Sell Rate USD 1.00 = MVR 15.42.
References
*Browder, Tim J.: ''Maldive Islands Money, Santa Monica'', 1969
External links
Currency in Circulation Maldives Monetary Authority
Peter Cin: Maldives Banknote Collection (1947-2022)Exchange ratefrom Yahoo! Finance.
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Economy of the Maldives