This is a description of the current and historical currencies ofCroatia, or historically used in the region. The currency of Croatia is theeuro, in use since 2023.
The history of currency in the now Croatian territory dates to much earlier than the adoption of the modernkuna in 1994,[1] and almost a thousand years of history which has seen the rise and fall of many different empires and kingdoms.[2]
Croats did not begin to create their own coins for currency until late in the 12th century (1100–1200). Previously, they minted replicas of Byzantine coins of emperor Heraclius.[2] Byzantine coinage was adopted by Byzantine Empire in the 4th century (300–400) and was the currency standard for the empire for about 700 years.[3]
The use ofmarten pelts,fox pelts andsilk as means of paying tribute have been recorded inDalmatian city-states in a 1018 document in theRepublic of Venice.[4] An Arabic travel writerAbu Hamid al-Gharnati recorded in 1154 that a "land of Slavs" near theDanube used actual marten pelts embroidered with royal markings as currency, but did not specify the exact extent of the territory; because he also separately described travels inHungary proper, it is assumed today that he meant the areas known asSlavonia at the time, a southern part of theKingdom of Hungary.[5] The earliest record of the termmarturina is dated to the end of the 12th century.[4]
In the age of theArpad dynasty, the Kingdom of Hungary started to mint silver coins calleddenar, including ones for theKingdom of Slavonia.[6]Andrew II of Hungary, at a time when he was the ruler of Slavonia (contemporary name for what is now most of continental Croatia), minted what is known as the first Croatianfrizatik between 1196 and 1204.[6] After 1205, the King would delegate the minting to theBan of Croatia.[6] This money was named after theban – thebanovac (denarius banalis). The symbols found on these coins included a runningmarten, astar and crescent to symbolize Croatia, and atwo-barred cross to symbolize Hungary.[7] The first recorded mint was located inPakrac between 1256 and 1260, when it was moved toZagreb where it would operate until 1384.[7] KingLouis I the Great was the first who forbade the minting of the banovac in 1364, preferring the royal currency instead.[7] The rulers from theCapetian House of Anjou such asCharles I Robert had started changing this policy as early as 1323.[7]
At the same time, in the mid-13th century the commune ofŠibenik minted a silver coin calledbagatin, and later under theRepublic of Venice copper coins were minted forSplit,Zadar,Hvar andTrogir.[7]
In 1443,Frederick III of Habsburg granted the privilege of coining money toStjepan II Frankopan, and toJan Vitovec, both Bans of Croatia.[7]
At the start of the 15th century (1400–1500), coastal Croatia came under increasing attack by theOttoman Empire, which wanted to take control of it from theRepublic of Venice. Venice succeeded in maintaining control over the current Croatian territory except for the city-state ofDubrovnik, which became independent during this time,[8] and minted and refined their own coinage over the span of five years. ThisRepublic of Dubrovnik coinage was called theartiluc. During this five-year span, other Croatian coastal towns,Zadar,Šibenik,Trogir,Split andHvar also minted their own similar coinage.[1] Venetian currency such as theVenetian lira and theVenetian ducat were used in Venetian possessions in Dalmatia.
TheHabsburg Empire used theAustro-Hungarian florin since 1754.
Printed money was introduced into the Croatian territory in 1778 in the city ofPag. This new currency was referred to asassignats, which were also being introduced into France at the same time. Previously the city of Pag had relied on salt to pay officers, clerks and doctors. To convert salt toassignats, the salt amount was converted to alira equivalent, which was noted on theassignats by including sum and issue date information.[1]
In theAustrian Empire, in 1848Josip Jelačić was appointedBan of Croatia, and he issued a combination of coins and banknotes during his time as ruler. For smaller-scale transactions, coins calledkrižar andforint (minted in Zagreb) were utilized.Križar were minted from copper andforint from silver. For larger transactions of enterprises, communalities, and trading houses, banknotes backed by guarantees were issued instead.[1]
The florin was replaced by theAustro-Hungarian krone in 1892.
With thecreation of Yugoslavia in 1918, theSerbian dinar was adopted alongside theYugoslav krone in Croatia. For a short while, theFiume krone was circulated in Fiume, today'sRijeka. The Serbiandinar also became the currency of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In 1929, the name of the country was changed from Kingdom of the Serbs to Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and thus, the name of the currency was changed from the Serbian dinar to theYugoslav dinar.[9]
From 1941–1945 duringWorld War II in Yugoslavia, theIndependent State of Croatia officially adopted the Kuna as the currency for the first time on 26 July 1941. TheIndependent State of Croatia kuna at the time of adoption included banknotes of 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000. Banknotes of 1, 2, were later introduced in 1942, and 5,000 banknotes were added in 1943.[10] The Kuna started with a fixed exchange rate of 20.00 Kn (Kuna) = 1 RM (Reichsmark), the currency for Germany at the time.[11] By 6 May 1945, the exchange rate between the Kuna and Reichsmark was fixed at 120.00 Kn (Kuna) = 1 RM (Reichsmark)[10]
From 30 June to 9 July 1945, the Kuna was removed from the currency circulation and replaced by the 1944 issue of the Yugoslav Dinar. At the time of reissue, the Yugoslav Dinar had a fixed exchange rate of 40 Kn (Kuna) = 1 dinar[11]
In 1991, Croatia officially declared its independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and became a separate country.[12]
After independence, a period of transition began to theCroatian dinar.
A few years later, theCroatian National Bank moved to a new currency, theCroatian kuna. The name was chosen as the name of the currency to represent the fiscal history of Croatia.[13] One kuna was equivalent to 1000 dinars. The modern kuna became the official currency of Croatia on 30 May 1994.[12] Coins were in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50lipa. The banknotes were in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 kuna.[14]
The self-proclaimedSerb entityRepublic of Serbian Krajina did not use the kuna or the Croatian dinar. Instead, they issued their ownKrajina dinar until the region wasreintegrated into Croatia in 1995. Between 1996 and 1998, theUnited Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium facilitated gradual introduction of the currency intoEastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia where it was used in parallel with other currencies.[15]
Core inflation rate of Croatian kuna averaged at 1.482 percent from January 2001 until October 2022.[16]
In the process ofaccession of Croatia to the European Union, the government decided to eventually replace the kuna with theeuro (€, EUR). Following the entry into theERM II regime in 2020, a fixed conversion rate was set at 1 € = 7.53450 kn in 2022, which was the final year for the kuna as Croatia replaced it with the euro on 1 January 2023. All Croatian bank accounts and credit cards were automatically converted to euros. State-owned finance agencyFina,Hrvatska pošta and all banks in Croatia will be exchanging kuna coins and notes to euro at no charge for 12 months since the introduction of euro, andCroatian National Bank will do the same for coins until the end of 2025 and notes indefinitely.[17][18]