The manat (ISO code: AZN; sign: ₼; abbreviation: m) is the currency of Azerbaijan. It is subdivided into 100 gapiks.
The first iteration of the currency emerged in the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and its successor, the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, with the issues happening in 1919–1923. The currency underwent hyperinflation, and was eventually substituted by the Transcaucasian ruble, which, in its turn, was converted to the Soviet ruble.
When Azerbaijan gained independence from the Soviet Union, it substituted the Soviet ruble with the manat, which also went through a period of high inflation in the first years, rendering the coinage obsolete. The current manat in circulation has existed since the redenomination in 2006, when old manats (AZM) were substituted with lower face values and new design. The currency has mostly been pegged to the US dollar, at what is now the rate of ₼1.70 to US$1.
The Azerbaijani manat symbol was added to Unicode as in 2013. A lowercase m was used previously, and may still be encountered when the manat symbol is unavailable.
Etymology
The word "manat" is derived from the Latin word "monēta" and the Russian word "монета" ("moneta") meaning "coin". It was used as the name of the Soviet currency in Azeri () and in Turkmen.
First manat, 1919–1923
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and its successor, the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic issued their own currency between 1919 and 1923. The currency was called the manat (منات) in Azerbaijani and the ruble (рубль) in Russian, with the denominations written in both languages (and sometimes also in French) on the banknotes. The manat replaced the first Transcaucasian ruble at par, and was replaced by the second Transcaucasian ruble after Azerbaijan became part of the Transcaucasian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic. No subdivisions were issued, and the currency only existed as banknotes.
Banknotes
The Democratic Republic issued notes in denominations of 25, 50, 100, 250, and 500 manats, whilst the Soviet Socialist Republic issued notes in denominations of 5, 100, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 25,000, 50,000, 100,000, 250,000, 1 million, and 5 million manats.
Second manat, 1992–2006
The second manat was introduced on 15 August 1992. It had the ISO 4217 code AZM and replaced the Russian ruble which itself replaced the Soviet ruble at a rate of RUR 10 to 1 manat.
Symbol
The new banknotes and Azerbaijani manat symbol, ₼, were designed by Robert Kalina in 2006, and the symbol was added to Unicode (U+20BC) in 2013, after failed addition proposals between 2008 and 2011. The final Azerbaijani Manat symbol design was inspired by the design of the Euro sign (€), based on an initial proposal by Mykyta Yevstifeyev, and resembles a single-bar Euro sign rotated 90° clockwise. The manat symbol is displayed to the right of the amount in Azeri and Turkmen.
Code
The new manat was initially assigned the code AYM on being added to the ISO 4217 standard on 1 June 2005, with an effective date of 1 January 2006. However, this was removed and replaced by AZN on 13 October 2005 as it did not comply with the ISO 4217 currency coding standardization rules (which state that currency codes must begin with the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for the relevant country).
Coins
Coins in circulation are 1, 3, 5, 10, 20 and 50 gapiks.
Most coins closely resemble the size and shape of various euro coins. Most notably the bimetallic 50 gapik (similar to the €2 coin) and the 10 gapik (Spanish flower, like the 20 euro cent coin). Coins were first put into circulation during January 2006 and do not feature a mint year.
{|class="wikitable" style="margin:auto; font-size:90%; border-width:1px;"
! colspan=11 | Coins of the manat (2006)
|-
! rowspan=2 | Image
! rowspan=2 | Value
! colspan=4 | Technical parameters
! colspan=3 | Description
! rowspan=2 | Issued<br/>from
|-
! Diameter<br/>(mm)
! Mass<br/>(g)
! colspan=2 | Composition
! Edge
! Obverse
! Reverse
|-
| style="background:#000; text-align:center" | 95px|center
| 1 gapik
| align=center | 16.25
| align=center | 2.80
| rowspan="3" style="background-color:#e0954f;" |
| rowspan=3 | Copper-plated<br/>steel
| Smooth
| rowspan=7 | Map of Azerbaijan;<br/>value; lettering:<br/>Azərbaycan<br/>Respublikası
| Traditional musical<br/>instruments; value
| rowspan=7 | 2006
|-
| style="background:#000; text-align:center" | 100px|center
| 3 gapiks
| align=center | 18.00
| align=center | 3.45
| Grooved
| Books and quill; value
|-
| style="background:#000; text-align:center" | 105px|center
| 5 gapiks
| align=center | 19.75
| align=center | 4.85
| Reeded
| Maiden Tower; value
|-
| style="background:#000; text-align:center" | 110px|center
| 10 gapiks
| align=center | 22.25
| align=center | 5.10
| rowspan="2" style="background-color:#ffe550;" |
| rowspan=2 | Brass-plated<br/>steel
| Spanish flower
| Nagorno-Karabakh<br/>military helmet; value
|-
| style="background:#000; text-align:center" | 115px|center
| 20 gapiks
| align=center | 24.25
| align=center | 6.60
| Interrupted<br/>reeding
| Spiral staircase;<br/>geometrical symbols;<br/>value
|-
| rowspan=2 style="background:#000; text-align:center" | 120px|center
| rowspan=2 | 50 gapiks
| rowspan=2 align=center | 25.50
| rowspan=2 align=center | 7.70
| style="background-color:#dcdcdc;"|
| Outer:<br/>Stainless steel
| rowspan=2 | Reeded lettering:<br/>
| rowspan=2 | Two oil wells; value
|-
| style="background-color:#ffe550;"|
| Inner:<br/>Brass-plated<br/>steel
|-
| colspan=11 |
|}
Banknotes
Banknotes in circulation are ₼1, ₼5, ₼10, ₼20, ₼50, ₼100, ₼200, and ₼500. They were designed by Austrian banknote designer Robert Kalina, who also designed the current banknotes of the euro and the Syrian pound. The notes look quite similar to those of the euro, and the choice of motifs was inspired by the euro banknotes.
In 2009, the Azərbaycan Milli Bankı (National Bank of Azerbaijan) was renamed the Azərbaycan Respublikasının Mərkəzi Bankı (Central Bank of Azerbaijan). In 2010, the ₼1 banknote was issued with the new name of the issuing bank, in 2012 a ₼5 banknote was issued with the new name of the issuing bank and in 2017 a 100₼ banknote dated 2013 was issued with the new name of the issuing bank.
In 2011 Azerbaijan's Ministry of Finance announced it was considering issuing notes of ₼2 and ₼3 as well as notes with values higher than ₼100. In February 2013, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan announced it would not introduce higher denomination notes until at least 2014.
In 2018, a ₼200 banknote was issued to commemorate Heydar Aliyev's 95th birthday.
Redesigned ₼1, ₼5, and ₼50 banknotes were introduced in 2021, preserving the same motifs but with updated designs. These circulate in parallel with existing notes.
A new commemorative ₼500 banknote was introduced in 2021.
2005 series
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%"
|-
! colspan="2" | Image !! rowspan="2" | Value !! rowspan="2" | Dimensions !! rowspan="2" | Main Color !! colspan="2" | Description !! rowspan="2" | Year
|-
! Obverse !! Reverse !! Obverse !! Reverse
|-
| 120px
| 120px
| rowspan="2" | ₼1
| rowspan="2" | 120 × 70 mm
| rowspan="2" | Grey
| rowspan="2" | Theme: Culture<br />
Azerbaijani folk music instruments (daf, kamancheh, tar)
| rowspan="2" | Ornaments of regional carpets
| 2005
|-
| 120px
| 120px
| 2009, 2017
|-
| 127px
| 127px
| rowspan="2" | ₼5
| rowspan="2" | 127 × 70 mm
| rowspan="2" | Orange
| rowspan="2" | Theme: Writing and literature<br />
Writers, poets, and books from Azerbaijan, with a written excerpt of the national anthem (Namusunu hifz etmeyə, Bayrağını yükseltməyə, Çümlə gənclər müştaqdır! Şanlı Vətən! Şanlı Vətən! Azərbaycan! Azərbaycan!) and letters from the contemporary Azerbaijani alphabet (ə, ö, ğ, ş)
| rowspan="2" | Rock drawings of Gobustan, samples of Old Turkic script
| 2005
|-
| 127px
| 127px
| 2009, 2017
|-
| 134px
| 134px
| rowspan="2" | ₼10
| rowspan="2" | 134 × 70 mm
| rowspan="2" | Teal
| rowspan="2" | Theme: History<br />
Old Baku, the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and the Maiden Tower against a background of the Icheri Sheher wall
| rowspan="2" | Ornaments of regional carpets
| 2005
|-
| 134px
| 134px
| 2018
|-
| 141px
| 141px
| ₼20
| 141 × 70 mm
| Green
| Theme: Karabakh<br />
Signs of power (a sword, a helmet and a shield)
| Symbol of peace (harybulbul)
| rowspan="3" | 2005
|-
| 148px
| 148px
| ₼50
| 148 × 70 mm
| Yellow
| Theme: History and future<br />
Youth, stairs (as a symbol of progress), the sun (as a symbol of force and light) and chemical and mathematical symbols (as signs of science)
| rowspan="4" | Ornaments of regional carpets
|-
| 155px
| 155px
| rowspan="2" | ₼100
| rowspan="2" | 155 × 70 mm
| rowspan="2" | Mauve
| rowspan="2" | Theme: Economy and development<br />
Architectural symbols from antiquity up to today, the manat currency symbol (₼) and symbols of economic growth
|-
| 155px
| 155px
| 2013
|-
| 160px
| 160px
| ₼200
| 160 × 70 mm
| Blue
| Theme: Modern architecture<br />
The Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku
| 2018
|}
2020 refurbishment
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%"
|-
! colspan="2" | Image !! rowspan="2" | Value !! rowspan="2" | Dimensions !! rowspan="2" | Main Color !! colspan="2" | Description !! rowspan="2" | Year
|-
! Obverse !! Reverse !! Obverse !! Reverse
|-
| 120px
| 120px
| ₼1
| 120 × 70 mm
| Grey
| Theme: Culture<br />
Azerbaijani folk music instruments (daf, kamancheh, tar)
| rowspan="6" | Map of Azerbaijan
| rowspan="2" | 2020
|-
| 127px
| 127px
| ₼5
| 127 × 70 mm
| Orange
| Theme: Writing and literature<br />
Writers, poets, and books from Azerbaijan, with the lyrics of the full Azərbaycan marşı
|-
|134px
|frameless|134px
| ₼10
|134 × 70 mm
|Teal
|Theme: History
Old Baku, the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and the Maiden Tower against a background of the Icheri Sheher wall
| rowspan="2" |2022
|-
|141px
|141px
| ₼20
|141 × 70 mm
|Green
|Theme: Karabakh<br />
Signs of power (a sword, a helmet and a shield)
|-
|148px
|148px
| ₼50
|148 × 70 mm
|Yellow and brown
|Theme: History and future<br />
Youth, stairs (as a symbol of progress), the sun (as a symbol of force and light) and chemical and mathematical symbols (as signs of science)
|2020
|-
|155px
|155px
| ₼100
|
|Mauve
|Theme: Economy and growth
|2026
|-
|center|168x168px
|center|169x169px
| ₼500
(commemorative)
|165 × 70 mm
|Brown, red, green and blue
|Theme: The 2020 Karabakh War<br />
Poppies, Khodaafarin stone bridges
|Mausoleum of Molla Panah Vagif; Askeran fortress
|2021
|}
Exchange rates
- Before Feb 2015: US$1 = ₼0.78
- Feb - Dec 2015: US$1 = ₼1.05
- Dec 2015 - Apr 2017: Floating exchange rate against the US$
- May 2017 onwards: US$1 = ₼1.7 (fixed)
See also
- Central Bank of Azerbaijan
- Turkmenistani manat
- Economy of Azerbaijan
- Banking in Azerbaijan
References
External links
- Der Standard article on the redenomination
- Azerbaijan Manat: Catalog of Banknotes
- Azerbaijan International. Azerbaijan's New Manats: Design and Transition to a New Currency
- Catalog of Azeri coins and banknotes
- The banknotes of Azerbaijan