The dinar ( ar, دينار) ( ar, مؤسسة النقد للجنوب العربي; sign: £) was the currency of South Arabia and then South Yemen between 1965 and 1990. It was subdivided into 1000 ''fils'' (فلس). After Yemen's monetary unification on 1 July 1990, it was one of the two official currencies used in Yemen Republic until 11 June 1996.

History

The dinar was introduced in 1965 as the South Arabian dinar, replacing the East African shilling at a rate of 1 dinar = 20 shillings, thus setting the dinar initially equal to one pound sterling, it also used the

pound sign The pound sign is the symbol for the pound unit of sterling – the currency of the United Kingdom and previously of Great Britain and of the Kingdom of England. The same symbol is used for other currencies called pound, such as the Gibralt ...

as its Latin script symbol. It was renamed the South Yemeni dinar after the

Federation of South Arabia The Federation of South Arabia ( ar, اتحاد الجنوب العربي ') was a federal state under British protection in what would become South Yemen. Its capital was Aden. It was formed on 4 April 1962 from the 15 protected states of ...

and the

Protectorate of South Arabia The Protectorate of South Arabia consisted of various states located at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula under treaties of protection with Britain. The area of the former protectorate became part of South Yemen after the Radfan upri ...

united in 1967 as independent South Yemen. The South Yemeni dinar was replaced with the

Yemeni rial The rial ( ar, ريال يمني; sign: ﷼; abbreviation: YRl (singular) and YRls (plural) in Latin, ,ر.ي in Arabic; ISO code: YER) is the official currency of the Republic of Yemen. It is technically divided into 100 fils, although coins ...

following unification with

North Yemen North Yemen may refer to: * Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (1918–1962) * Yemen Arab Republic The Yemen Arab Republic (YAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية اليمنية '), also known simply as North Yemen or Yemen (Sanaʽa), was a ...

in 1990. The exchange rate was £1 = Rls.26. Dinar banknotes remained legal tender until 1996. For a wider history surrounding currency in the region, see

British currency in the Middle East The history and development of British currency in the Middle East emerged from the 19th century. British involvement in the Middle East began with the Aden Settlement in 1839. The British East India Company established an anti-piracy station in Ad ...

Coins

In 1965, coins (dated 1964) were introduced for both the

and the

in denominations of 1, 5, 25 and 50 fils. The 1 fils was struck in aluminium, the 5 fils in bronze and the higher two denominations in cupro-nickel. In 1971, coins were issued in the name of "Democratic Yemen", changing to the "People's Democratic Republic of Yemen" in 1973. That year, aluminium fils were introduced, followed by aluminium 10 fils and cupro-nickel 100 and 250 fils in 1981. The 10 fils was scalloped shaped whilst the 100 fils was octagonal.

Banknotes

On 1 April 1965, the South Arabian Currency Authority introduced notes in denominations of 250 and 500 fils, as well as £1 and £5. A £10 note was issued on 1 July 1967. In 1984, the Bank of Yemen introduced 500 fils as well as £1, £5 and £10 notes that are like the preceding issues of South Arabia, except the English text and printer's imprint have been removed from the front, the name of the issuer has changed and now appears on the back, along with the name of the capital (ADEN).

References

* *

Value

External links

{{Dinar Currencies of Yemen South Yemen Modern obsolete currencies 1965 establishments in the Federation of South Arabia 1990 disestablishments in Yemen