The official currency of Morocco. Currency of the country. Its origin and appearance.

The Moroccan Dirham in the international financial system has the designation MAD and code 504. This is the official currency in Morocco. The currency was put into circulation in 1961.

The origin of the monetary unit

What is the currency in Morocco today? The Moroccan dirham has been the official monetary unit of this country since 1961. Before that, the state used the Moroccan franc. One dirham consists of one hundred centimes. At the moment in monetary circulation are coins worth ten and twenty centimes. In addition, metal money is used in nominal value of half, one, two, five, ten, twenty, fifty, one hundred and two hundred dirhams.

Design of Moroccan money

Moroccan coins contain the state coat of arms of Morocco. As this symbol stands a shield, which holds a pair of lions. In addition, it is crowned with a crown, the sun and the sign of the pentagram are put on it. The opposite side of the coins, as a rule, is drawn up in different ways. For example, the obverse of coins with face values of one and twenty dirhams contains the image of King Mohammed VI. The inscriptions on the metal money are in Arabic. It will be by the way to say that the year of manufacture of coins is indicated according to both the Arabian and the European calendar.

Paper bills of the Moroccan dirham are almost identical in size. On the front side of all banknotes, dated 2002, the image of King Mohammed VI is depicted. At the same time, the color scheme of the notes differs. For example, a banknote of twenty dirhams is made in purple, fifty - green, one hundred - brown, and two hundred - blue. On the reverse side of the banknotes are placed various national symbols of Morocco. The currency of twenty dirhams, for example, contains a panoramic view of the fortress Udaya. At fifty there is an adobe building. Interestingly, the design of the reverse side of the bill of one hundred dirhams is executed. It depicts the so-called green march. This name is well-known demonstration of the people of Morocco, organized by the leadership of the country in 1975. This strategic exercise was intended to force Spain to transfer the disputed territories of Western Sahara to the Moroccan state . Announced the organization of the demonstration and its objectives Moroccan King Hassan II.

On a banknote worth two hundred dirhams is a window of the mosque of King Hassan II. It should be noted by the way that the obverse of all the notes contains inscriptions in Arabic, and the reverse is in English.

Interesting Facts

The development and design of the new Moroccan currency is managed by the Bank of Al-Maghrib. It is the central financial institution of Morocco. The currency of the state, its issue and control on it are the prerogative of Al-Maghrib Bank. An interesting fact is that the export of local dirhams from the country is prohibited by law. In 2009, a commemorative denomination of fifty dirhams was put into circulation. Then Bank al-Maghrib celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, which served as a pretext for issuing a new banknote. On the front side of this note you can see the image of three Moroccan kings: Muhammad VI, Hassan II and Muhammad V. But on the reverse of the banknote is the view of the headquarters of Bank al-Maghrib in the Moroccan capital of Rabat.

Currency Exchange in Morocco

Travelers and tourists should know that the opportunity to purchase local dirhams is in the offices of banks, large hotels and restaurants in Morocco. The currency of this state is also sold at special exchange points, which can be found at the airports of the country. It should refrain from operations for the purchase of Moroccan dirhams from hand in the streets of cities. In this case, the probability of fraud on the part of local businessmen is high. When traveling to the country you need to know what currency the Moroccan currency has to the dollar. At the moment this ratio is 1 MAD = 0.10 USD.