DINAR. The monetary unit of Serbia, and since the war of Yugoslavia, divided into ioo paras. At par, the dinar is equiva lent to 2.982 cents in the currency of the United States.
Gold coins are of 20 and Io dinars in denomination, and silver is coined into pieces of 5, 2, 1 and dinars, respectively. Nickel coins circulate, in the form of 20, Io and 5 paras, while bronze is struck into coins of 2 paras. During the last few years, when the dinar has had only about one-fifteenth of its pre-war pur chasing power, it is open to doubt how often these subsidiary coins have been seen. With the dinar equivalent to 1•76 cents or about three-farthings, 2 paras would be only i/iooth of a penny. National bank notes circulate in Yugoslavia. In 1920, 3,344 million dinars were outstanding, and by 1924 the volume had risen to 6,000 millions. Concurrently, the dollar exchange fell from 2.95 to 1.49 cents.
The world depression of the 193os and the outbreak of a new European war in 1939 caused further violent fluctuations in the exchange value of this and other currencies. (See also CUR