Maldivian rufiyaa

The Maldivian rufiyaa (Template:Langx; sign: Rf or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}; code: MVR) is the currency of the Maldives. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA). The rufiyaa is subdivided into 100 laari.

The name rufiyaa is derived from the Sanskrit {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Transliteration, Template:Lit). The midpoint of exchange rate is Rf. Template:Frac per US dollar and the rate is permitted to fluctuate within a ±20% band, i.e. between Rf. Template:Frac and Rf. Template:Frac as of 10 April 2017.<ref>MMA announcement Template:Webarchive</ref>

History

File:Maldives Monetary Authority.jpg

The modern building of the Maldives Monetary Authority

The earliest form of currency used in the Maldives was cowrie 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 Battuta observed that more than 40 ships loaded with cowry shells were exported each year. A single gold dinar was worth 400,000 shells.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, lārin<ref>[1] After Lar in modern day Iran where it was first minted Template:Webarchive</ref> (parallel straps of silver wire folded in half with dyed Persian and Arabic inscriptions) were imported and traded as currency. This form of currency was used in the Persian Gulf, India, Ceylon 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 to imprint his own seal onto this currency was Ghaazee Muhammad Thakurufaanu al-Auzam. The seal was much broader than the wires hence it was barely legible.

File:17 and 18 century coinage of maldive islands.jpg

Maldivian coins from the 17th and 18th century.

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, a fact which it acknowledged on the reverse. The legend "King of Land and Sea, Iskandhar the Great" (Template:Langx) 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 believe to be the first machine struck coins, judging the superior quality of the engravements. His successor Sultan Mohamed Shamshudeen III (1904–1935) made the last of these coins, 1 and 4 laari denominations, which were struck in the United Kingdom by Heaton's Mint, Birmingham, England in 1913.

Following the end of coin production specifically for the Maldives, the Sultanate came to use the Ceylonese rupee. 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 ISO 4217 code was changed from Template:ISO 4217 (Maldive rupee) into Template:ISO 4217 (rufiyaa).<ref>Template:ISO 4217/cite</ref>

Coins

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In early 1960, Sultan Mohamed Fareed I ordered coins from the Royal Mint 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 on the reverse side with the traditional title of the state (Template:Langx, 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, the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), introduced the Rf. 1 coin on 22 January 1983. The coin was minted in West Germany. 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. In 2017, a bimetallic Rf. 2 coin was introduced into circulation to replace the previous RF. 2 coin.

Second series (1982–2017)
Image	Value	Diameter (mm)	Mass (g)	Composition		Edge	Obverse	Reverse	Issue
	1 laari	15.00	0.456		Aluminum	Smooth	Lettering: Maldives and ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭ ; value Template:Small	Coconut palm; year of issue Template:Small	1984
	5 laari	20.32 Template:Small	2.00		Aluminum	Smooth		Tuna; year of issue Template:Small	1984–1990
		16.85	0.62			Reeded			2012
	10 laari	23.11 Template:Small	1.95		Aluminum	Smooth		Odi; year of issue Template:Small	1984–2001
		18.10	0.85						2012
	25 laari	20.19	4.15		Nickel brass	Reeded		Malé minaret; year of issue Template:Small	1984–1996
			3.75		Brass-plated steel				2008
	50 laari	23.60	5.65		Nickel brass	Reeded		Loggerhead sea turtle; year of issue Template:Small	1984–1995
			5.15		Brass-plated steel				2008
	1 rufiyaa	25.91	6.41		Nickel-plated steel	Reeded	Lettering: Republic of Maldives; value Template:Small	Coat of arms; year of issue Template:Small	1982
	2 rufiyaa	25.50	11.70		Nickel brass	Reeded with lettering: Template:Small		Conch shell; Lettering: ދިވެހިރާއްޖ ; year of issue Template:Small	1995–2007
					Brass-plated steel				2007
		25.50	6.20		Outer: Nickel brass	Plain			2017
					Inner: Nickel-plated steel

Banknotes

In 1945, the Majlis of the Maldives (Parliament) passed bill number 2/66 on the "Maldivian Bank Note". Under this law, banknotes for Rf. Template:Frac, Rf. 1, Rf. 2, Rf. 5 and Rf. 10 were printed and put into circulation on 5 September 1948.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1951, Rf. 50 and Rf. 100 banknotes were introduced.

The previous series of banknotes were 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).

First series

First series (1947)[2]
Image	Value	Dimensions (mm)	Description		Issue	Withdrawn
			Obverse	Reverse
[3]	Rf. Template:Fraction	109 × 57	Palm tree and lateen rigged Mas dhoani; Mas odi, a square rigged vessel	Template:N/A	5 September 1948	1983
[4]	Rf. 1	115 × 64		Customs House building
[5]	Rf. 2	127 × 76		Royal Jetty
[6]	Rf. 5	140 × 88		Sakkarannya Gate
[7]	Rf. 10	156 × 103		Veyodorhu Ganduvaru Mathige; Medhumaa Gate
[8]	Rf. 50	159 × 107		Ibrahimiyya Building; Dhathurah Araavadaigannavaa Gate	8 May 1951
[9]	Rf. 100	166 × 118		Court of Eterekoilu

Second series

Second series (1983)
Image	Value	Dimensions (mm)	Main colour		Description		Issue	Withdrawn	Lapse
					Obverse	Reverse
[10]	Rf. 2	150 × 70		Olive green	Dhivehi Odi ship; coconuts	Beaches	1983, 1990	1 August 2016	31 December 2021
[11]	Rf. 5			Violet		Fishing boats	1983, 1990	1 January 2018
[12]							1998, 2000, 2006, 2011
[13]	Rf. 10			Brown		Island village	1983	1 August 2016
[14]							1998, 2006
[15]	Rf. 20			Pink		Malé inner harbour	1983, 1987
[16]							2000, 2008
[17]	Rf. 50			Blue		Bazar in Malé	1983, 1987
[18]							2000, 2008
[19]	Rf. 100			Green		Medhu Ziyaaraiy	1983, 1987
[20]							1995, 2000, 2013
[21]	Rf. 500			Red		Islamic Centre and Mosque	1990, 1996	11 May 2007	8 November 2007
[22]							2006, 2008	1 August 2016	31 December 2021

Current series

Ran Dhihafaheh series (2015)
Image	Value	Dimensions (mm)	Main colour		Description		Issue
					Obverse	Reverse
[23]	Rf. 5	150 × 70		Grey	Football players; people celebrating	Conch shell	2017
[24]	Rf. 10			Yellow	Toddy tapper; people playing boduberu	Boduberu	2015, 2018
[25]	Rf. 20			Purple	Fisherman with skipjack tuna; Velana International Airport	Dhoni	2015, 2020
[26]	Rf. 50			Green	A boy reciting the Quran; Men pulling boats from the beach onto the water	Friday Mosque minaret	2015, 2022
[27]	Rf. 100			Red	Woman wearing traditional dress (Libaas), working on the neckline threading (Hiru)	Lōmāfānu (early Dhivehi scripture)	2015, 2018, 2024
[28]	Rf. 500			Orange	Wood carving; a woman making ekels (Iloshi)	Naalhi (traditional hand carved vase)	2015
[29]	Rf. 1000			Blue	Green turtle; Manta rays	Whale shark	2015

Symbol

File:Rufiyaa sign.svg

The rufiyaa symbol is created by introducing an additional horizontal stroke to Thaana letter raa.

The rufiyaa symbol was publicly introduced by the MMA on 3 July 2022. Designed by Hassan Shujau, it represents the letter raa of Thaana script, which is the first letter in spelling "rufiyaa" in Dhivehi, with an added parallel line is to represent the equal sign as used in various other currency symbols.

The design was chosen among 70 concept proposals received through a nationwide competition. The proposals were evaluated by an evaluation committee comprising members from the MMA, Dhivehi Bahuge Academy and other areas of expertise.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• Currency of Maldives
• Economy of Maldives

References

• MMA (Dhivehi) Publication, 1983. {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Maldivian Currency)

External links

• Currency in Circulation – Maldives Monetary Authority (archived)
• Maldives Rufiyaa Collection (1947–2024)
• Official Exchange Rates (archived)
• Banknotes of the Maldives

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