The United Arab Emirates dirham (Arabic: درهم, sign: د.إ; code: AED), also known as simply the Emirati dirham, is the currency of the United Arab Emirates. The term dirham is officially abbreviated “AED”, while unofficial abbreviations include “DH” or “Dhs.”. The dirham is subdivided into 100 fils (فلس).
History
The name dirham is an Arabic word. Due to centuries of trade and usage of the currency, dirham survived through the Ottoman Empire.
The United Arab Emirates dirham was introduced on 19 May 1973. It replaced the Qatar and Dubai riyal at par. The Qatar and Dubai riyal had circulated since 1966 in all of the emirates except Abu Dhabi, where the dirham replaced the Bahraini dinar at 1 dinar = 10 dirham. Before 1966, all the emirates that were to form the UAE used the Gulf rupee. As in Qatar, the emirates briefly adopted the Saudi riyal during the transition from the Gulf rupee to the Qatar and Dubai riyal.
Coins
In 1973, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 fils, and 1 dirham. The 1, 5 and 10 fils are struck in bronze, with the higher denominations in cupro-nickel. The fils coins were same size and composition as the corresponding Qatar and Dubai dirham coins. In 1995, the 5 fils, 10 fils, 50 fils, and 1 dirham coins were reduced in size, with the new 50 fils being curve-equilateral-heptagonal shaped.
The value and numbers on the coins are written in Eastern Arabic numerals and the text is in Arabic. The 1, 5 and 10 fils coins are rarely used in everyday life, so all amounts are rounded up or down to the nearest multiples of 25 fils. The 1 fils coin is a rarity and does not circulate significantly. In making change there is a risk of confusing the old 50 fils coin for the modern 1 dirham coin because the coins are almost the same size.
Since 1976 the Currency Board of the United Arab Emirates has minted several commemorative coins celebrating different events and rulers of the United Arab Emirates. For details, see Commemorative coins of the United Arab Emirates dirham.
| Image | Value | Technical parameters | Description | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obverse | Reverse | Diameter | Thickness | Weight | Edge | Shape | Obverse | Reverse | |
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فلس25 | 20 mm | 1.5 mm | 3.5 g | Milled | Circular | A Gazelle facing left, with Hijri and Gregorian year of mint below. | Lettering: “الامارات العربية المتحدة“, below it “٢٥“, below it “فلساً” and below it “UNITED ARAB EMIRATES” |
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فلس50 | 21 mm | 1.7 mm | 4.4 g | Smooth | Heptagon | Three oil derricks, with Hijri and Gregorian year of mint below. | Lettering: “الامارات العربية المتحدة“, below it “٥۰“, below it “فلساً” and below it “UNITED ARAB EMIRATES” |
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د.إ1 | 24 mm | 2 mm | 6.1 g | Milled | Circular | A Dallah, with Hijri and Gregorian year of mint below. | Lettering: “الامارات العربية المتحدة“, below it “١“, below it “درهم” and below it “UNITED ARAB EMIRATES” |
Issues with fraud
By August 2006 it became publicly known that the Philippine one peso coin is the same size as one dirham. As 1 peso is only worth 8 fils, this has led to vending machine fraud in the UAE. Pakistan’s 5 rupee coin, the Omani 50 Baisa coin and the Moroccan 1 dirham are also the same size as the Emirati one dirham coin. A falcon watermark is present on all dirham notes to prevent fraud.
Banknotes
On 20 May 1973, the U.A.E. Currency Board introduced notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 dirhams; a 1000 dirham note was issued on 3 January 1976. A second series of note was introduced in 1982 which omitted the 1 and 1000 dirham notes. 500 dirham notes were introduced in 1983, followed by 200 dirham in 1989. 1000 dirham notes were reintroduced in 2000. Banknotes are currently available in denominations of 5 (brown), 10 (green), 20 (light blue), 50 (purple), 100 (pink), 200 (green/brown), 500 (navy blue) and 1000 (greenish blue) dirhams.
The obverse texts are written in Arabic with numbers in Eastern Arabic numerals; the reverse texts are in English with numbers in Arabic numerals. The 200 dirham denomination is scarce as it was only produced in 1989; any circulating today come from bank stocks.
The 200 dirham denomination has since been reissued and is now in circulation since late May 2008 – it has been reissued in a different colour; Yellow/Brown to replace the older Green/Brown. The United Arab Emirates Central Bank has released a new 50 dirham note. The security thread is a 3-mm wide, color-shifting windowed security thread with demetalized UAE 50, and it bears the new coat of arms which was adopted on 22 March 2008.