Redenomination Explained

In monetary economics, redenomination is the process of changing the face value of banknotes and coins in circulation. It may be done because inflation has made the currency unit so small that only large denominations of the currency are in circulation. In such cases the name of the currency may change or the original name may be used with a temporary qualifier such as "new". Redenomination may be done for other reasons such as changing over to a new currency such as the Euro or during decimalisation.

Redenomination itself is considered symbolic as it does not have any impact on a country's exchange rate in relation to other currencies. It may, however, have a psychological impact on the population by suggesting that a period of hyperinflation is over, and is not a reminder of how much inflation has impacted them. The reduction in the number of zeros also improves the image of the country abroad.

Inflation over time is the main cause for the purchasing power of the monetary unit decreasing; but there are a variety of political reasons for the government not reining in inflation or for not redenominating the currency when its value has depreciated significantly. There are some economic and social benefits of redenominating, including improved efficiency in processing routine transactions. Redenomination typically involves the substitution of new banknotes in place of the old ones, which usually cease being legal tender after the end of a short transition period.

Inflation

In general, redenomination is implemented in response to hyperinflation, which progressively increases the nominal prices of products and services, decreasing the real value of the monetary unit in the local market. Over time, prices become excessively large, which can impede routine transactions because of the risk and inconvenience of carrying stacks of bills, or the strain on systems, e.g. automatic teller machines (ATMs), or because human psychology does not handle large numbers well. Authorities may alleviate this problem by redenomination: introducing a new unit that replaces the old unit, with a fixed number of old units being converted to 1 new unit. If inflation is the reason for redenomination, this ratio is much larger than 1, usually a positive integral power of 10 like 100, 1000 or 1 million, and the procedure can be referred to as "cutting zeroes".[1] Recent examples of redenominations include:

New unit = × Old unit Year
Argentine peso (ARP)=10 000Argentine peso ley (ARY)1983
Argentine austral (ARA)=1 000Argentine peso (ARP)1985
Argentine peso (ARS)=10 000Argentine austral (ARA)1992
New Polish złoty (PLN)=10 000old Polish złoty (PLZ)1995
New Mozambican metical (MZN)=1 000old metical (MZM)2006
Second Zimbabwean dollar (ZWN)=1 000first dollar (ZWD)2006
Third Zimbabwean dollar (ZWR)=10 000 000 000second dollar (ZWN)2008
Fourth Zimbabwean dollar (ZWL)=1 000 000 000 000third dollar (ZWR)2009
This table is not exhaustive.

Although the ratio is often a positive integral power of 10 (i.e., removing some zeros), sometimes it can be a where a is a single-digit integer and n is a positive integer. Partial examples include

New unit = × Old unit Year
German Rentenmark=1 000 billionPapiermark1923
Chinese gold yuan=3 millionold yuan1948
=500 millionChinese gold yuan1949
New Taiwan dollar=40 000old dollar1949
Azerbaijani new manat=5 000old manat2006
This table is not exhaustive.

Occasionally, the ratio is defined in a way such that the new unit is equal to a hard currency. As a result, the ratio may not be based on an integer. Examples include

New unit = × Old unit = Anchor currency year
Brazilian real=2 750cruzeiros reais=United States dollar1 July 1994
Yugoslav novi dinar=10~13 million1994 dinara=Deutsche Mark24 January 1994
2nd Polish złoty=1.8 millionPolish marka=Swiss franc1 April 1924
This table is not exhaustive.

In the case of hyperinflation, the ratio can go as high as millions or billions, to a point where scientific notation is used for clarity or long and short scales are mentioned to disambiguate which kind of billion or trillion is meant.

In the case of chronic inflation which is expected to continue, the authorities have a choice between a large redenomination ratio and a small redenomination ratio. If a small ratio is used, another redenomination may soon be required, which will entail costs in the financial, accounting, and computing industries. However a large ratio may result in inconveniently large or small prices at some point in the cycle.

After a redenomination, the new unit often has the same name as the old unit, with the addition of the word new. The word new may or may not be dropped a few years after the change. Sometimes the new unit is a completely new name, or a "recycled" name from previous redenomination or from ancient times.

New unit = × Old unit year Nature of the new unit
Turkish new lira=1 millionold lira2005"new" is an official designation and was dropped in 2009.
New Taiwan dollar=40 000old dollars1949"new" is an official designation and is still used in official documents today.
Argentine austral=1 000Peso argentino1985completely new name
Yugoslav 1993 dinar=1 million1992 dinara1993no official designation
Brazilian real=2 750cruzeiros reais1994recycled unit of Brazil before 1942
This table is not exhaustive.

Decimalisation

See main article: Decimalisation. All countries that previously had currencies based on pounds-shillings-pence (£sd) system (£1 = 20 shillings = 240 pence) have now adopted decimal currencies (currencies related by powers of 10), with several changing the name of the main currency unit at the same time. As of 2020, only two currencies are non-decimal, being the Mauritanian ouguiya and Malagasy ariary, with one of each divided into five subdivisory units.

Currency union

See main article: Currency union. When countries form a currency union, redenomination may be required. The conversion ratio is often not a round number, and may be less than 1.

New unit = x Old unit year Monetary union
Danish krone=0.5Danish rigsdaler1873Scandinavian Monetary Union
Gulden österreichischer Währung=20/21Gulden Conventions-Münze1858Wiener Münzvertrag between the states of the German Customs Union and the Austrian Empire
This table is not exhaustive.

List of Euro redenominations

The most notable currency union today is the Eurozone. In 2002, euros in cash form were introduced.

CountryOld unitExchange rate
Year
BelgiumBelgian franc40.33991999
LuxembourgLuxembourgish franc40.33991999
GermanyDeutsche Mark1.955831999
Andorra, SpainSpanish peseta166.3861999
Andorra, France, MonacoFrench franc6.559571999
IrelandIrish pound0.7875641999
Italy, San Marino, Vatican CityItalian lira1936.271999
NetherlandsDutch guilder2.203711999
AustriaAustrian schilling13.76031999
PortugalPortuguese escudo200.4821999
FinlandFinnish markka5.945731999
GreeceGreek drachma340.752001
SloveniaSlovenian tolar239.642007
CyprusCypriot pound0.5852742008
MaltaMaltese lira0.42932008
SlovakiaSlovak koruna30.1262009
EstoniaEstonian kroon15.64662011
LatviaLatvian lats0.702804 2014
LithuaniaLithuanian litas3.45282015
CroatiaCroatian kuna7.53452023

List of currency redenominations

This table lists various currency redenominations that have occurred, including currency renaming where the conversion rate is 1:1, but excluding decimalisation and joining the Eurozone, already listed on the table above.

New unitdata-sort-type="currency" Exchange rate (old:new)Old unitYearCountryReasonNote<-- force numeric sorting in col 2 with hidden extreme min/max rows -->is used to delimit key from text -->
Hungarian forintHungarian pengő1946HungaryHyperinflationThis is a theoretical conversion rate, using pengő = 1 adópengő. The total value of all circulating pengő notes was less than of a forint or of a fillér.
RentenmarkPapiermark1923GermanyHyperinflation
Zimbabwean dollar (4th)Zimbabwean dollar (3rd)2009ZimbabweHyperinflationSubsequently abandoned and replaced with Zimbabwean bond notes and the Zimdollar in February 2019 after a period of time in which numerous foreign currencies were used
Greek drachma (2nd)Greek drachma (1st)1944GreeceHyperinflation
Zimbabwean dollar (3rd)Zimbabwean dollar (2nd)2008ZimbabweHyperinflation
Yugoslav 1994 dinar1993 dinara1994YugoslaviaHyperinflationLasted for 23 days.
3rd Krajina dinar2nd Krajina dinar1994Republic of Serbian KrajinaHyperinflation
Chinese "silver" yuan"gold" yuan1949China (Republic of China)Hyperinflation
Hungarian forintHungarian adópengő1946HungaryHyperinflation
Yugoslav novi dinar1994 dinara1994YugoslaviaHyperinflationAnchor currency: Deutsche Mark
Nicaraguan córdoba (oro, 3rd)Nicaraguan córdoba (2nd)1991NicaraguaInflation
Chinese "gold" yuan(old) yuan1948China (Republic of China)Inflation
Nouveau zaïreFirst Zaïre1993Democratic Republic of the CongoInflation
Polish złoty (2nd)Polish marka1924PolandHyperinflationAnchor currencies: Swiss franc (equal in value, but not pegged) and United States dollar (pegged $1 = 5.18 zł)
To limit production costs of coins, only banknotes were printed until November 1924. To further limit such costs, 500,000-mark and 10,000,000-mark notes were cut in two and overprinted 1 GROSZ and 5 GROSZY in red.
BolivianoPeso boliviano1985BoliviaInflation
Peruvian nuevo solPeruvian inti1991PeruHyperinflationThe "nuevo" designation lasted until 2015.
Yugoslav 1993 dinar1992 dinara1993YugoslaviaHyperinflationno official designation
2nd Krajina dinar1st Krajina dinar1993Republic of Serbian KrajinaHyperinflation
Georgian lariGeorgian kuponi1995GeorgiaHyperinflation
Second KwanzaKwanza reajustado1999AngolaInflation
Transnistrian ruble (3rd)Transnistrian ruble (2nd)2001TransnistriaHyperinflation
Turkish new liraTurkish lira2005TurkeyInflationThe "new" designation lasted until 2009.
Venezuelan bolívar (4th)Venezuelan bolívar (3rd)2021VenezuelaHyperinflation
Hryvnia3rd Ukrainian karbovanets1996UkraineInflation
Second Congolese francNouveau zaïre1998Democratic Republic of the CongoInflation
Bolívar SoberanoBolivar Fuerte2018VenezuelaHyperinflation
4th Soviet ruble3rd Soviet ruble1924Soviet UnionHyperinflationTo stop hyperinflation, the new currency was backed by gold.
New Taiwan dollarTaiwan dollars1949Taiwan (Republic of China)Inflation"new" is an official designation and is still used in official documents
United States dollarSucre2000EcuadorInflationFull dollarization for banknotes. Ecuador also issues centavo coins.
Hungarian pengőHungarian korona1927HungaryInflation
2nd Soviet ruble1st Soviet ruble1922Soviet UnionHyperinflationA superunit, called a chervonets (Russian: червонец) was also introduced that year. It was worth 10 rubles.
Austrian schillingAustrian krone1925AustriaInflation
Second Renminbi yuanFirst Renminbi yuan1955China (People's Republic of China)Inflation
Peso argentinoPeso ley1983ArgentinaInflation
Yugoslav 1990 dinar1966 dinara1990YugoslaviaInflation
Peso (convertible)Austral1992ArgentinaInflation
4th Polish złoty3rd Polish złoty1995PolandInflationFor 2 years after the redenomination, the old currency coexisted with the new one, so prices had to be denominated in both currencies.
Romanian leu (4th)Romanian leu (3rd)2005RomaniaInflation
New Ghanaian cediCedi2007GhanaInflation
Third Belarusian rubleSecond Belarusian ruble2016BelarusInflation
United States dollarIndonesian rupiah1999United Nations Transitional Administration in East TimorStart of UN administration
Azerbaijani new manatSecond Azerbaijani manat2006AzerbaijanInflation
Turkmenistani new manat(old) manat2009TurkmenistanInflation
RealCruzeiro real1994BrazilInflationAnchor currency: United States dollar
Cruzeiro (antigo)Real (old)1942BrazilInflationThe cruzeiro was an alternative name for one mil réis.
Greek drachma (3rd)Greek drachma (2nd)1954GreeceInflation
Chilean escudoFirst Chilean peso1960ChileInflation
Peso bolivianoFirst boliviano1963BoliviaInflation
Rupiah (new)First rupiah1965IndonesiaMonetary unification[2]
Cruzeiro (novo)Cruzeiro (antigo)1967BrazilInflation
First zaïreFirst congolese franc1967Democratic Republic of the CongoInflation
Nuevo pesoPeso moneda nacional1973UruguayInflation
Chilean pesoChilean escudo1975ChileInflation
Argentine australArgentine peso (1983)1985ArgentinaInflation
Peruvian intiPeruvian sol (1863)1985PeruInflation
CruzadoCruzeiro (novo)1986BrazilInflation
New ShekelShekel1986IsraelInflation
Nicaraguan córdoba (2nd)Nicaraguan córdoba (1st)1988Nicaragua
Cruzado NovoCruzado1989BrazilInflation
Cruzeiro realCruzeiro (third)1993BrazilInflation
Nuevo peso mexicanoPeso mexicano1993MexicoInflation"nuevo" was a temporary designation dropped in 1996
Moldovan leuMoldovan cupon1993MoldovaInflation
Peso uruguayoNuevo peso1993UruguayInflation
Croatian kunaCroatian dinar1994Croatia
2nd Uzbekistani soum1st Uzbekistani soum1994UzbekistanInflation
Kwanza reajustadoNovo kwanza1995AngolaInflation
Second Russian rubleFirst Russian ruble1998RussiaInflation
Bulgarian new levBulgarian lev1999BulgariaInflation
Tajikistani somoniTajikistani ruble2000TajikistanInflation
Surinamese dollarSurinamese guilder2004SurinameInflationOld coins denominated in cents were declared to be worth their face value in the new cents.
New Mozambican metical(old) meticais2006MozambiqueInflation
Zimbabwean dollar (2nd)Zimbabwean dollar (1st)2006ZimbabweInflation
Second Sudanese poundFirst Sudanese pounds2007SudanInflationCurrency unification (peace treaty)
Bolivar Fuerte(old) Bolivar2008VenezuelaInflation
Zambian kwacha(old) Kwacha2013ZambiaInflation
São Tomé and Príncipe dobra (2nd)São Tomé and Príncipe dobra (1st)2018São Tomé and PríncipeInflation
Sierra Leonean leone(old) Sierra Leonean leone2021 [3] Sierra Leone Inflation
Liberation đồngĐồng1975South VietnamFall of Saigon
Turkmenistani manat7th Soviet ruble1993TurkmenistanBreak-up of the Soviet Union
Kazakhstani tenge7th Soviet ruble1993KazakhstanBreak-up of the Soviet Union
3rd Haitian gourde2nd Haitian gourde1872Haiti
2nd Latvian lats2nd Latvian rouble1993LatviaRecycling old currency
Kyrgyzstani som7th Soviet ruble1993KyrgyzstanBreak-up of the Soviet Union
Armenian dram7th Soviet ruble1993ArmeniaBreak-up of the Soviet Union
3rd Soviet ruble2nd Soviet ruble1923Soviet UnionHyperinflation
3rd Polish złoty2nd Polish złoty1949PolandAll bank assets were revalued at a ratio of .
South Korean hwanfirst South Korean won1954Republic of KoreaInflation after Korean War (1950–1953) and independence from Japan (1945)
New French FrancFrench Franc1960FranceInflation"New" was a temporary designation dropped in 1963
New Finnish markkaFinnish markka1963FinlandInflation
Yugoslav 1966 dinar1944 dinara1966YugoslaviaInflation
Peso leyPeso moneda nacional1970ArgentinaInflation
Icelandic krónaIcelandic króna1981IcelandHyperinflation
Second Ugandan shillingFirst Ugandan shilling1987UgandaInflation
Lithuanian litasTalonas1993LithuaniaInflation
Second Macedonian denarFirst Macedonian denar1993North Macedonia
Tajikistani rubleFirst Russian ruble1995TajikistanBreak-up of the Soviet Union
Second Sudanese poundSudanese dinars2007SudanInflationCurrency unification (peace treaty)
North Korean won (2nd)North Korean won (1st)2009North KoreaInflationRedenomination by state
CFA francGuinea-Bissau peso1997Guinea-Bissaumonetary unionWest African CFA franc
Guatemalan quetzalGuatemalan peso1925Guatemala
1st Latvian lats1st Latvian rouble1922LatviaApproval of "Regulations on Money"
Yugoslav 1944 dinarIndependent State of Croatia kuna1944YugoslaviaReconstituted Yugoslav Federation dinar replacing currency in use in its constituents
Peso moneda nacionalPeso moneda corriente1881ArgentinaInflation
Yugoslav 1944 dinarSerbian 1941 dinar1944YugoslaviaReconstituted Yugoslav Federation dinar replacing currency in use in its constituents
Nicaraguan córdoba (1st)Nicaraguan peso1912Nicaragua
2nd Haitian gourde1st Haitian gourde1870Haiti
5th Soviet ruble4th Soviet ruble1947Soviet UnionInflation
6th Soviet ruble5th Soviet ruble1961Soviet UnionMonetary reform
South Korean won (2nd)South Korean hwan1963Republic of KoreaInflation
Guinean syliGuinean franc (1st)1971Guinea
Israeli shekel (1st)Israeli pound1980IsraelInflation
Talonas7th Soviet ruble1991LithuaniaIndependence (from the Soviet Union)No coins denominated in talonas were issued.
Estonian kroon7th Soviet ruble1992EstoniaBreak-up of the Soviet Union
Azerbaijani manat (2nd)7th Soviet ruble1992AzerbaijanBreak-up of the Soviet Union
Sudanese dinarFirst Sudanese pounds1992SudanInflationApplied only to North Sudan
Yugoslav 1992 dinar1990 dinara1992YugoslaviaInflation
First Belarusian ruble7th Soviet ruble1994BelarusBreak-up of the Soviet UnionWhen Soviet rubles were still in use in Belarus, Belarusian ruble denominations were implied to be ten times more than Soviet rubles.
Second Mauritanian ouguiyaFirst Mauritanian ouguiya2018MauritaniaInflationThe redenomination was an opportunity for the central bank to introduce more secure polymer banknotes.
United States dollarColón2001El Salvadordollarization
1st Haitian gourdeHaitian livre1813Haiti8 livres and 5 sous. 1 sou was equal to of a livre.
Peso moneda corrienteReal1826Argentina
OuguiyaCFA franc1973Mauritania
AriaryFranc malgache2005MadagascarFrom 1961, banknotes were issued denominated in both francs and ariary.
CFA francEkwele1985Equatorial Guineamonetary unionCentral African CFA franc
CFA francFranc malien1984Malimonetary unionWest African CFA franc
Ghanaian cediOld cedi1967GhanaDecimalisation, change of governmentThis was an opportunity to remove Kwame Nkrumah from every denomination.
Hungarian koronaAustro-Hungarian krone1919HungaryBreak-up of Austria-Hungary
Austrian kroneAustro-Hungarian krone1920AustriaBreak-up of Austria-Hungary
Mongolian tögrög4th Soviet ruble1925Mongolia
First Guinean francCFA franc1959GuineaIndependence
Franc malienCFA franc1962MaliIndependence
First Ugandan shillingEast African shilling1966UgandaIndependence
Peseta guineanaSpanish peseta1969Equatorial GuineaIndependence
First KwanzaSecond Angolan escudo1975AngolaIndependence
EkwelePeseta guineana1975Equatorial Guinea
Guinea-Bissau pesoPortuguese Guinean escudo1975Guinea-BissauIndependence
Franc guinéenSyli1985Guinea
Novo kwanzaFirst Kwanza1990Angolaseizure of money supply by governmentAngolans could only exchange 5% of all old notes for new ones; they had to exchange the rest for government securities
Cruzeiro (third)Cruzado Novo1990Brazilrenaming
7th Soviet ruble6th Soviet ruble1991Soviet UnionMonetary reform, money seizure50-ruble and 100-ruble notes were withdrawn from circulation.
Croatian dinarYugoslav 1990 dinar1991CroatiaBreak-up of Yugoslavia
Slovenian tolarYugoslav 1990 dinar1991SloveniaBreak-up of Yugoslavia
2nd Latvian rouble7th Soviet rouble1992LatviaLack of money supplyWhile Soviet roubles were still used in Latvia, it had to introduce its own currency to make its monetary policy independent.
Moldovan cupon7th Soviet ruble1992MoldovaBreak-up of the Soviet UnionThe cupon was a temporary currency, no coins were issued.
1st Krajina dinarYugoslav 1992 dinar1992Republic of Serbian KrajinaBreak-up of Yugoslavia
1st Russian ruble7th Soviet ruble1992RussiaBreak-up of the Soviet Union
First Macedonian denarYugoslav 1990 dinar1992North MacedoniaBreak-up of YugoslaviaThe first denar was a temporary currency, no coins were issued
3rd Ukrainian karbovanets7th Soviet ruble1992UkraineBreak-up of the Soviet Union
Georgian kuponi7th Soviet ruble1993GeorgiaBreak-up of the Soviet UnionOnly banknotes were issued.
1st Uzbekistani soum7th Soviet ruble1993UzbekistanBreak-up of the Soviet Union
Đồng (unified)Liberation đồng1978South VietnamUnification
Austro-Hungarian kroneAustro-Hungarian florin1892Austria-Hungarymonetary unionMoving from silver to gold standard
Iranian TomanIranian Rial1932IranMonetary reform

Alternatives

Japanese invasion money suffered from heavy inflation. At the end of World War II governments of liberated countries and territories opted to simply declare them worthless.

In 2016, the Colombian peso was rated at around 3,000 per U.S. dollar, with banknotes up to 50,000 pesos. Instead of redenominating the currency, a new banknote design was introduced, with the last three zeroes replaced by the word "mil" (thousand), making the values easier to read.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: It's decided: 2005 talk instead of 1 Leu RON 10,000; Ziarul Financiar . Zf.ro . 2004-01-29 . 2016-12-05 . 2019-12-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191216195340/https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ro&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zf.ro%2Fprima-pagina%2Fe-hotarat-in-2005-vorbim-de-1-leu-in-loc-de-10-000-lei-2965557%2F&edit-text=&authuser=0 . live .
  2. Web site: Indonesia Pernah Lakukan Redenominasi pada 1965 . 4 March 2013 .
  3. Web site: Sierra Leone to cut three zeros from currency. 12 August 2021.