HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Maldivian rufiyaa ( dv, ދިވެހި ރުފިޔާ;
sign A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or me ...
: Rf or ;
code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...
: MVR) is the currency of 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 ...
. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the
Maldives Monetary Authority The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) is the central bank of the republic of Maldives and was established on July 1, 1981, under the mandate provided by the "MMA Act" of 1981, located in the capital city of Malé. The current governor and chairp ...
(MMA). The most commonly used symbols for the rufiyaa are MVR and Rf. The
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 for Maldivian rufiyaa is MVR. The rufiyaa is subdivided into 100 '' laari''. The name "rufiyaa" is derived from the
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
रूप्य (''rūpya'', wrought
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 ...
). The midpoint of exchange rate is Rf. 12/85 per
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 ...
and the rate is permitted to fluctuate within a ±20% band, i.e. between Rf. 10/28 and Rf. 15/42 as of 10 April 2017.


History

The earliest form of currency used in the Maldives was
cowry Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. The term ''porcelain'' derives from the old Italian term for the cowrie shell (''porcellana'') d ...
shells (''Cypraea moneta'') and historical accounts of travellers indicate that they were traded in this manner even during the 13th century. As late as 1344,
Ibn Batuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berber Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, largely in the Muslim wo ...
observed that more than 40 ships loaded with cowry shells were exported each year. A single gold
dinar The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...
was worth 400,000 shells. During the 17th and 18th centuries, lārin (parallel straps of silver wire folded in half with dyed
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and
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 ...
inscriptions) were imported and traded as currency. This form of currency was used 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 ...
, India,
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 ...
and the Far East during this time. Historians agree that this new form of currency was most probably exchanged for cowry shells and indicates Maldives' lucrative trade with these countries. The first
Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
to imprint his own seal onto this currency was Ghaazee
Mohamed Thakurufaanu Al Auzam As-Sulṭaan al-Ghaazee Muhammad Thakurufaanu al-A'uẓam () (death 26 August 1585) or As-Sultan Ghazi Muhammad Bodu Thakurufaanu ruled over the Maldive Islands from 1573 to 1585. He is known for fighting the Portuguese who ruled over the Maldi ...
. The
seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
was much broader than the wires hence it was barely legible. The first known of coins were introduced by Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar (1648–1687). Compared to the previous forms of money, these coins were much neater and minted in pure silver. The coins were minted in the capital city of
Malé Malé (, ; dv, މާލެ) is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 252,768 and an area of , it is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city is geographically located at the southern ...
, a fact which it acknowledged on the reverse. The legend "King of Land and Sea, Iskandhar the Great" ( dv, ކަނޑާއި އެއްގަމުގެ ރަސްގެފާނު، މަތިވެރި އިސްކަންދަރު) is found on the edge. After this period, gold coins replaced the existing silver ones during the reign of Sultan Hassan Nooruddin in 1787. He used two different qualities of gold in his coins; one was called Mohoree and the other Baimohoree, of which the former is of higher value. How this gold was obtained is uncertain. Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, bronze coins were issued denominated in laari. Sultan Mohamed Imaadhudheen IV (1900–1904) introduced what
historians A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
believe to be the first machine struck coins, judging the superior quality of the engravements. His successor Sultan
Mohamed Shamshudeen III Sultan Muhammad Shamsuddeen Iskander III, , (Dhivehi: ސުލްޠާން މުޙައްމަދު ޝަމްސުއްދީން; 20 October 1879 – 12 March 1935), son of Ibrahim Nooraddeen and Kakaage Don Goma, was the Sultan of the Maldives first from ...
(1904–1935) made the last of these coins, 1 and 4 laari denominations, which were struck in the United Kingdom by
Heaton's Mint The Birmingham Mint was a coining mint and metal-working company based in Birmingham, England. Formerly the world's largest privately-owned mint, the company produced coins for many foreign nations including France, Italy, China, and much of the ...
, Birmingham, England in 1913. Following the end of coin production specifically for the Maldives, the Sultanate came to use the
Ceylonese rupee The Sri Lankan Rupee ( si, රුපියල්, ta, ரூபாய்; Currency symbol, symbol: Re and Rs (plural) in English, රු in Sinhala, ௹ in Tamil; ISO 4217, ISO code: LKR) is the currency of Sri Lanka. It is subdivided into 100 ...
. This was supplemented in 1947 by issues of banknotes denominated in rufiyaa, equal in value to the rupee. In 1960, coins denominated in laari, now worth one hundredth of the rufiyaa, were introduced. In 1990, the formal
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 wqs changed from (''Maldive rupee'') into (''rufiyaa'').


Coins

In early 1960, Sultan Mohamed Fareed I ordered coins from the
Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...
in England. The new issue consisted of denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 laari. Unlike his predecessors, Sultan Fareed did not embellish his title on the coins; instead he used the
National Emblem A national emblem is an emblem or seal that is reserved for use by a nation state or multi-national state as a symbol of that nation. Many nations have a seal or emblem in addition to a national flag A national flag is a flag that represents ...
on the reverse side with the traditional title of the state ( ar, الدولة المحلديبية, State of Maldives) and the denomination value on the obverse side. The currency was put into circulation in February 1961 and all the previously traded coins, with the exception of Shamshudeen III's 1 and 4 laari, were withdrawn from circulation on 17 June 1966. The newly established
central bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...
, the
Maldives Monetary Authority The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) is the central bank of the republic of Maldives and was established on July 1, 1981, under the mandate provided by the "MMA Act" of 1981, located in the capital city of Malé. The current governor and chairp ...
(MMA), introduced the Rf. 1/- coin on 22 January 1983. The coin was made from steel clad copper nickel and was minted in
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
. In 1984, a new series of coins was introduced which did not include the 2 laari denomination. In 1995, Rf. 2/- coins were introduced. Coins currently in circulation are 1 laari, 2 laari, 5 laari, 10 laari, 25 laari, 50 laari, Rf. 1/-, Rf. 2/-.


Banknotes

In 1945, the
Majlis of the Maldives The People's Majlis ( dv, ރައްޔިތުންގެ މަޖިލިސް; ''Rayyithunge Majilis'') is the unicameral legislative body of Maldives. The Majlis has the authority to enact, amend and revise laws, as outlined in the Constitution of t ...
(Parliament) passed bill number 2/66 on the "Maldivian Bank Note". Under this law, banknotes for Rf. , Rf. 1/-, Rf. 2/-, Rf. 5/- and Rf. 10/- were printed and put into circulation on 5 September 1948. In 1951, Rf. 50/- and Rf. 100/- banknotes were introduced. The current series of banknotes was issued in 1983 in denominations of Rf. 2/-, Rf. 5/-, Rf. 10/-, Rf. 20/-, Rf. 50/- and Rf. 100/-. Rf. 500/- banknotes were added in 1990, with the Rf. 2/- replaced by a coin in 1995. In October 2015, the Maldives Monetary Authority issued a Rf. 5,000/- banknote in polymer to commemorate the 50th anniversary of independence, and issued a new family of banknotes in polymer that included a new denomination of Rf. 1,000/-. A Rf. 5/- banknote printed in polymer was revealed in May 2017 and was issued in July 2017. It was originally planned that this denomination was to be replaced by a coin of the same denomination, but public input convinced the Maldives Monetary Authority to go for the banknote. Illustrations on the banknotes were done by Maizan Hassan Manik and Abbaas (Bamboo).


See also

* Currency of Maldives * Economy of Maldives
Maldives Banknote Collection (1947-2018)


References

* MMA (Dhivehi) Publication, 1983. (Maldivian Currency)


External links


Currency in Circulation
Maldives Monetary Authority
Maldives Rufiyaa Collection (1947–2018)

Official Exchange Rates


{{Portal bar, Asia, Money, Numismatics Currencies of the British Empire Currencies of the Commonwealth of Nations Currencies of the Maldives Economy of the Maldives Fixed exchange rate Currencies introduced in 1947