The national currency of Azerbaijan is the manat (AZN). The name comes from a Russian coin. Before its own currency appeared in the republic, the Russian ruble acted as official money.
The history of the manat
After the country gained independence, manat appeared. The very first one was released in 1919 and was in circulation until 1923. Then Azerbaijan separated from the Soviet Union, and the manat began to be called the ruble. On the banknotes were printed inscriptions in two languages. Sometimes, in addition to Russian and Azerbaijani, French was also used. At that time there were still no coins and notes of a small denomination.
What currency was in Azerbaijan in 1992? At that time, the Russian ruble was still in use. And only on August 15, 1992 manat was officially introduced in Azerbaijan. Over the course of the year, its rate against the Russian ruble was 1:10. In 1993, Azerbaijan switched to its official domestic currency. At first, several episodes were released. Soviet money gradually withdrawn from circulation.
And from January 1, 1994, only the currency of Azerbaijan began to be used in the republic. She became the country's main sole means of payment. The last series of manats was released in 2006 after another denomination. At that time, one new banknote was 5,000 old.
Azerbaijani currency design
Outwardly, the currency of Azerbaijan is similar to the European monetary unit - the euro. And this is not surprising, since the design of the currency was developed by the Austrian Robert Kalin, it was he who created the euro. Therefore, some symbols in the European and Azerbaijani currencies coincide.
Nevertheless, manat is distinguished by its original features. All banknotes are printed in the size of 125x63 millimeters. The denomination is indicated on both sides of the bills. On banknotes are displayed:
- modern culture and rich traditions;
- contribution to world literature;
- territorial integrity;
- education and its future;
- state traditions and history.
The paper currency of Azerbaijan has a very different face. Each banknote has a contour Azerbaijan border on the reverse. They are located next to the number denoting the denomination of the bill. These banknotes began to be issued since 2005, in modern times almost replaced old banknotes.
The front side depicts a monument or architectural object of Azerbaijan. These figures are distinguished by various ratings. There is one anniversary issue. In it, banknotes have different sizes, but all of them have the contour borders of Azerbaijan.
Denominations
Like any other currency, manat was denominated. This happened twice: in 1992 and 2005. The currency of Azerbaijan in the modern version has six types of banknotes with different denominations. The minimum (in manats) is 1, the maximum is 100. One unit is equal to 100 kopecks (qepiks).
Coins are also presented in six different denominations. From 1993 to 2006 they were withdrawn from circulation, but then they began to mint again. From 1 to 5 qepiks are made of copper and steel. Denominations of 10 to 50 are minted in brass and steel. In the history of the Azerbaijani currency, banknotes were issued in several series.
