Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark

The convertible mark (Bosnian: konvertibilna marka / конвертибилна марка; sign: KM; code: BAM) is the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is divided into 100 pfenigs or fenings (Bosnian: pfenig / пфениг or fening / фенинг), and locally abbreviated KM.[1]

Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark
Konvertibilna marka (Bosnian, Latin script) Конвертибилна марка (Bosnian , Cyrillic script)
Convertible marks coins and banknotes^1
ISO 4217
Code	BAM
Number	977
Exponent	2
Denominations
Subunit
1/100	Fening/Pfenig "Fening" was introduced later and is used officially alongside "pfenig".
Plural	marks (marke) The language(s) of this currency belong(s) to the Slavic languages. There is more than one way to construct plural forms.
Fening/Pfenig	fenings/pfenigs (feninzi/pfenizi)
Symbol	KM
Fening/Pfenig	pf
Nickname	mark (marka)
Fening/Pfenig	none
Banknotes	10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 marks
Freq. used	10, 20, 50 and 100 marks
Rarely used	200 marks
Coins	5, 10, 20 and 50 fenings/pfenigs; 1, 2 and 5 marks
Demographics
Date of introduction	22 June 1998
Source	[1]
User(s)	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Issuance
Central bank	Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Website	www.cbbh.ba
Printer	Imprimerie Oberthur (by François-Charles Oberthür)
Mint	Royal Mint, Llantrisant
Valuation
Inflation	−0.9%
Source	The World Factbook, 2014 est.
Method	CPI
Pegged with	Euro (€) = 1.95583 convertible marks
^1 Designs for 10, 20, 50 and 100 KM banknotes differ for two entities of FBiH and RS in some aspects (images, order of scripts etc.). Residual banknote (200 KM) and all of the coins are same for both entities.

History

The convertible mark was established by the 1995 Dayton Agreement. It replaced the Bosnia and Herzegovina dinar, Croatian kuna and Republika Srpska dinar as the single currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1998. Mark refers to the German mark, the currency to which it was pegged at par.[1]

Etymology

The names derive from the German language. The three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian) have adopted German nouns die Mark and der Pfennig as loanwords marka and pfenig. The Official Gazette of BiH (Bosnian: Službeni glasnik BiH), Official newspaper of FBiH (Bosnian: Službene novine FBiH) and other official documents recognised pfenig or пфениг[2] (depending on the script; Bosnian and Serbian use both Latin and Cyrillic on an equal footing, while Croatian uses only Latin) as the name of the subdivision.

Banknotes of 50 fenings/pfenigs were in circulation from 1998 to 2000.[1] They were denoted as "50 KONVERTIBILNIH PFENIGA" / "50 КОНВЕРТИБИЛНИХ ПФЕНИГА"; however, the word convertible should never be next to the pfenig because only the mark can be convertible.[3] (See Mistakes for all of the mistakes on banknotes and coins.) Coins of 10, 20 and 50 pfenigs have been in circulation since 1998[1] (the 5-pfenigs coin was released in 2006).[1] All of them are inscribed "~ feninga" / "~ фенинга" on the obverse. Misspelling fening/фенинг has never been corrected, and it took that much hold that is now officially adopted and not recognised as an incorrect name.[1]

Plurals and cases

Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian have a complicated case system. In addition, it is important to note that they use three plural forms.

• In combination with numbers 1, 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71, 81, 101, 1001, … (i.e. ending in 1 but not 11) nouns use the nominative case singular (the base form):

màrka (màr: a – short vowel, rising tone) and pfénig/féning ((p)fé: e – short vowel, rising tone)

• In combination with numbers that for rightmost digit have 2, 3 or 4 (except 12, 13 and 14) nouns use the genitive case singular (so called "the paucal form"):

màrke (màr: a – short vowel, rising tone) and pféniga/féninga ((p)fé: e – short vowel, rising tone)

• In combination with numbers 0, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 100, 1000, 10000 etc. (i.e. ending in 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, 11, 12, 13 or 14) nouns use the genitive case plural:

mȁrākā (mȁr: a – short vowel, falling tone; vowels ā are not accented but have genitive length) and pfénīgā/fénīngā ((p)fé: e – short vowel, rising tone; vowels ī and ā are not accented but have genitive length)

(For further information on accents in BSC, see Serbo-Croatian phonology and Shtokavian dialect#Accentuation.)

For the pfenig, the plural is pfeniga/feninga with a short unaccented a, whereas the genitive plural is pfeniga/feninga (same) but with a long unaccented i and a. A syllable after an accented syllable whose vowel is pronounced as a long and with a continuous tone (neither rising or falling) is said to have a genitive length (although, word need not to be necessarily in the genitive case in order to have genitive length on its syllable; it can be in locative, too).

These matters should be noted when one uses the local names in English. For example, English plural "ten pfenigas" / "ten feningas" is incorrect as the final a in BSC plural pfeniga/feninga already indicates the plural. So, "ten pfenigs" / "ten fenings" should be used instead. The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH) uses "fenings" as the English plural.[1] Likewise, "twenty-one markas" / "two markes" / "twelve marakas" is incorrect; "twenty-one marks" / "two marks" / "twelve marks" should be used instead.

Coins

In December 1998, coins were introduced in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 fenings/pfenigs.[1] Coins of 1, 2 and 5 marks were introduced later.[1] The coins were designed by Bosnian designer Kenan Zekic[4] and minted at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant (Wales, UK).[1]

Coins of the convertible mark (1998–present)[1]
Image O R	Value	Technical parameters			Description			Date of
		Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	minting	issue	withdrawal	lapse
O R	5 fenings/pfenigs	18.00 mm	2.66 g	nickel-plated steel	reeded	Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina, country name, denomination	Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina, country name, year	2005–present	5 January 2006	Current
O R	10 fenings/pfenigs	20.00 mm	3.90 g	copper-plated steel	plain	Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina, country name, denomination	Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina, country name, year	1998–present	9 December 1998	Current
O R	20 fenings/pfenigs	22.00 mm	4.50 g		reeded			1998–present
O R	50 fenings/pfenigs	24.00 mm	5.15 g					1998–present
O R	1 mark	23.25 mm	4.95 g	nickel-plated steel	milled and smooth	Denomination, country name, indented and inverted triangles*	Coat of arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina	2000–present	31 July 2000	Current
O R	2 marks	25.75 mm	6.90 g	cupro-nickel (inner ring); golden 5.5%; nickel-brass combination (outer ring)			Peace dove	2000–present
O R	5 marks	30.00 mm	10.35 g	nickel-brass (inner ring); copper-nickel (outer ring)	milled			2005–present	5 January 2006
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table. The triangles are intended for the visually impaired.

Banknotes

In 1998, notes were introduced in denominations of 50 fenings/pfenigs, 1 mark, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 marks. 200-mark notes were added in 2002, whilst the 50-fening/pfenig, 1- and 5-mark notes were later withdrawn from circulation. All current notes are valid throughout the country.[1]

The banknotes are issued by the Central Bank of Bosnia Herzegovina, with distinct designs for the entities of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska,¹ except for the largest denomination – 200-mark note.[1] On the notes of the Republika Srpska, inscriptions are printed in Cyrillic, then Latin script, and vice versa. Banknotes, with the exception of the 200-mark note, are printed by the French company Oberthur.[1][5]

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina issues

Banknotes of the convertible mark for FBiH (1998–present)[1]
Image O R	Value	Technical parameters		Description		Date of
		Dimensions	Watermark	Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue	withdrawal	lapse
O R	50 fenings/pfenigs	120 mm × 60 mm	Central Bank monogram repeated vertically	Skender Kulenović	Stećak Zgošca fragment	No date (1998)	22 June 1998	1 January 2003[6]	1 April 2018[7]
O R	1 mark	120 mm × 60 mm		Ivan Franjo Jukić	Stećak Stolac fragment			1 January 2009[8]
O R	5 marks	122 mm x 62 mm		Meša Selimović	Trees	No date (1998)		1 January 2010[9]	1 April 2018[7]
O R	10 marks	130 mm x 65 mm		Mehmedalija Mak Dizdar	Stećak Križevići fragment (until 2017 print, wrongly named as "Stećak Radimlja", corrected in 2019 print)[10][11]	No date (1998) (2008) (2012) (2017) (2019)	22 June 1998 4 November 2008 1 June 2012 14 April 2017	Current
O R	20 marks	138 mm x 68 mm		Antun Branko Šimić	Stećak Radimlja fragment	No date (1998) (2008) (2012) (2019)
O R	50 marks	146 mm x 71 mm		Musa Ćazim Ćatić	Stone relief	No date (1998) (2002) (2007) (2008) (2009) (2012) (2017) (2019)	22 June 1998 No date (2002) 1 March 2007 No date (2008) 14 December 2009 1 June 2012
O R	100 marks	154 mm x 74 mm		Nikola Šop	Stećak Zgošca fragment	No date (1998) (2002) (2007) (2008) (2012) (2017) (2019)	27 July 1998 No date (2002) 1 March 2007 No date (2008) 1 June 2012
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Republika Srpska issues

Banknotes of the convertible mark for RS (1998–present)[1]
Image O R	Value	Technical parameters		Description		Date of
		Dimensions	Watermark	Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue	withdrawal	lapse
O R	50 fenings/pfenigs	120 mm × 60 mm	Central Bank monogram repeated vertically	Branko Ćopić	House and books	No date (1998)	22 June 1998	1 January 2003[6]	1 April 2018[7]
O R	1 mark	120 mm × 60 mm		Ivo Andrić	The Bridge on the Drina			15 July 1998^[a][12]
O R	^[b]5 marks	122 mm x 62 mm		Meša Selimović	Trees	No date (1998)		1 January 2010[9]	1 April 2018[7]
O R	10 marks	130 mm x 65 mm		Aleksa Šantić	Loaf of bread	No date (1998) (2008) (2012) (2017) (2019)	22 June 1998 4 November 2008 1 June 2012	Current
O R	20 marks	138 mm x 68 mm		Filip Višnjić	Gusle (musical instrument)	No date (1998) (2008) (2012) (2019)
O R	50 marks	146 mm x 71 mm		Jovan Dučić	pen, eyeglasses and book	No date (1998) (2002) (2007) (2008) (2009) (2012) (2017) (2019)	22 June 1998 No date (2002) 1 March 2007 No date (2008) 14 December 2009 1 June 2012
O R	100 marks	154 mm x 74 mm		Petar Kočić	pen, eyeglasses and book	No date (1998) (2002) (2007) (2008) (2012) (2017) (2019)	27 July 1998 No date (2002) 1 March 2007 No date (2008) 1 June 2012
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Nationwide issues

The portraits of Ivan Franjo Jukić and Meša Selimović, which are both writers, were featured by consensus between both entities on all 1 and 5 KM notes used between 1998 and 2010.[1]

On 15 May 2002, a 200 KM banknote, designed by Robert Kalina, was introduced during a promotion that was held in the Central Bank of BH. The reverse design which depicts a bridge is meant to resemble the euro banknotes, which were also designed by Robert Kalina. After an international tender, the Austrian company Oesterreichische Banknoten und Sicherheitsdruck GmbH (OeBS) in Vienna was chosen to print the notes. Initially, six million were ordered.[13]

Banknotes of the convertible mark for both entities (2002–present)[1]
Image O R	Value	Technical parameters		Description		Date of
		Dimensions	Watermark	Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue	withdrawal	lapse
O R	200 marks	156 mm x 76 mm	Image of the Bridge on River Drina[13]	Ivo Andrić	The Bridge on the Drina	No date (2002)	15 May 2002	Current
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Exchange rates

Initially the mark was pegged to the German mark at par.[1] Since the replacement of the German mark by the euro in 2002, the Bosnian convertible mark uses the same fixed exchange rate to euro that the German mark had (that is, 1 EUR = 1.95583 BAM).[1]

Current BAM exchange rates
From Google Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From XE.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From OANDA:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD
From fxtop.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD

Mistakes

Detail on 1 KM banknote for Republika Srpska with misspelled name of Ivo Andrić written in Cyrillic as "ИВО АНДРИЂ / IVO ANDRIĐ" instead of "ИВО АНДРИЋ / IVO ANDRIĆ"

Banknotes and coins of Bosnia and Herzegovina have many mistakes and inconsistencies.[1]

Officially, only one banknote has not been released in circulation because of a mistake, even though other banknotes with mistakes had been issued.[1]

Examples

These are the most important mistakes that have been noticed till now:

1. 50 fenings/pfenigs banknote in both designs had the adjective "convertible" next to the noun "pfenig" although only mark can be convertible ("50 KONVERTIBILNIH PFENIGA" / "50 КОНВЕРТИБИЛНИХ ПФЕНИГА").[3]
2. 1 KM banknote for Republika Srpska was printed as "ИВО АНДРИЂ / IVO ANDRIĐ" instead of "ИВО АНДРИЋ / IVO ANDRIĆ". This banknote was immediately removed from circulation.^[a]
3. 5 KM banknote in both designs had the Cyrillic word "five" incorrectly printed in Latin script on its reverse side ("PET КОНВЕРТИБИЛНИХ МАРАКА", instead of "ПЕТ ...").
4. 10 KM banknote for Republika Srpska (first series, 1998) had Aleksa Šantić's name printed in Latin script although it should have been printed in Cyrillic script as it is on all other examples in 1998 series.
5. 100 KM banknote in both designs was incorrectly printed with the Cyrillic abbreviation (acronym) of Central bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina with "Џ / Dž" instead of "Ц / C" (i.e. "ЏББХ / DžBBH" instead of "ЦББХ / CBBH") in safety bar.
6. The name of the subdivision of convertible mark found on coins has been incorrectly written, the word "pfenig" being written as "fening". This mistake took so much hold (especially because there were no (and are no) 50 pfenigs/fenings banknotes in circulation) that "fening" is now officially adopted and not recognized as incorrect for the KM's hundredth part.[1]
7. In 2017, Edin Bujak from Department of archaeology on Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo, noticed a mistake on 10 KM banknote for the Federation of B&H. Picture of stećak on reverse side is actually a picture of stećak from Križevići, Olovo, and not from Radimlja necropolis as stated on banknote. Central bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed this mistake and it will be corrected in future printing of banknotes.[14]

See also

• Currencies related to the euro
• Economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Notes

1. ^{^} This Republika Srpska issue of 1 KM was immediately removed from circulation because of a typo. Instead of "Иво Андрић" it was written "Иво Андриђ". The decision not to release into the circulation the banknote in denominations of 1 convertible mark was published in Official Gazette of BiH (No 13/98).
2. ^{^} This Republika Srpska issue of 5 KM is same as the one for FBiH but for RS issue denominations are written in Cyrillic script first and then in Latin (for FBiH issue vice versa).

References

1. "BH Currency – KM Banknotes and Coins". cbbh.ba. Sarajevo: Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina. p. 1. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015. Fening details: | Mint: Royal Mint, Llantrisant | Released into Circulation: December 9th, 1998, with the exception of the 5 fening coin which is in circulation from January 5, 2006. | Face: Map of BH with overlay of denomination | Reverse: Flag of BH | The Words: "Bosna i Hercegovina" and "Fening" are on the face and reverse edges in both Latin and Cyrillic script. The date of production is on the reverse side on the left from the BH flag. | 10, 20 and 50 fening coins are made of copper-plated steel, while 5 fening coin is made of nickel-plated steel.
2. Mulaomerović, Jasminko (2004). "Novi numizmatičar" [New numismatist] (in Bosnian). 2 (5) (3 (8) ed.). Sarajevo: Numizmatičko društvo – Sarajevo: 20–21. Retrieved 20 December 2015 – via Scribd. Mi, u našoj veseloj zemlji, imamo konvertibilnu marku kao novčanu jedinicu. Marka ima svoj najsitniji dio koji se zove pfenig. Tako kaže Službeni glasnik BiH, a Službeni glasnik – to ti je zakon. Ko misli da to i nije baš zakon, jer se tu objavljuju stvari koje se tiču vesele zemlje Bosne i Hercegovine, tu su i Službene novine Federacije BiH koje to potvrđuju, i to na sva tri jezika i u dva pisma. (...) Međutim, imamo mi i kovanice. Iako su i one dijelovi marke, samo odmetala, one se kod nas drugačije zovu – fening. Tako na kovanicama možemo pročitati 10 feninga, 20 feninga i 50 feninga. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
3. Mulaomerović, Jasminko (2004). "Novi numizmatičar" [New numismatist] (in Bosnian). 2 (5) (3 (8) ed.). Sarajevo: Numizmatičko društvo – Sarajevo: 20–21. Retrieved 20 December 2015 – via Scribd. ... i u dva pisma. Da je to tako vidi se na novčanicama od 50 KONVERTIBILNIH PFENIGA, i onim sa Skenderom Kulenovićem i onim sa Brankom Ćopićem. Doduše, „Službeni(e)...” i stvarne novčanice se malo razilaze u detaljima pa tako u Službeni(e)... imamo „konvertibilnu marku, apoen od 50 pfeniga”, a na novčanicama „50 KONVERTIBILNIH PFENIGA”. Dakle, prema Službeni(e)... marka jeste konvertibilna, ali pfenig nije, dok je prema novčanici i PFENIG konvertibilan. Ima tu još malo nejasnoća oko velikog i malog slova u riječi „pfenig”, ali kao da je to, uostalom, i važno, i ko će sve to, bogati, gledati!? Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
4. Website of Kenan Zekic. Available at: http://kenanzekic.com.ba/
5. Mulic, Josef (2000). Papirini novac na tlu Bosne i Hercegovine od 1918. godine do danas
6. "CBBH". Cbbh.ba. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2014-02-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. "CBBH". Cbbh.ba. Archived from the original on 2016-03-14. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
10. "Novčanice KM". www.cbbh.ba. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
11. H, S. "Na novčanici od 10 KM nije stećak iz Radimlje, greška će biti ispravljena". Radio Sarajevo.
12. The decision not to release into the circulation the banknote in denominations of 1 convertible mark (Official Gazette of BiH (No 13/98))
13. "CBBH". Cbbh.ba. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
14. "Na novčanici od 10 KM nije stećak iz Radimlje, greška će biti ispravljena". Radiosarajevo.ba. Retrieved 4 January 2018.

External links

• Historical and current banknotes of Bosnia and Herzegovina