Mauritanian ouguiya

The ouguiya (Template:Langx ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}); sign: UM; code: MRU), at one time spelled "ougiya",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is the currency of Mauritania. Each ouguiya constitutes five khoums (meaning "one fifth").

The current ouguiya was introduced in 2018, replacing the old ouguiya at a rate of 1 new ouguiya = 10 old ouguiya, which in turn replaced the CFA franc at a rate of 1 old ouguiya = 5 francs. The name ouguiya ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) is the Hassaniya Arabic pronunciation of uqiyyah {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), meaning "ounce".

Template:AnchorFirst Ouguiya (MRO)

Coins

In 1973, coins of Template:Frac (1 khoums), 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 ouguiya were introduced into circulation. This was the only year that the khoums was minted, as the ouguiya was worth five CFA Francs a khoums was the equivalent of the franc (which had no subdivision). The most recent issues were in 2003 (1 ouguiya) and 2004 (other denominations). Coins are minted at the Kremnica mint in Slovakia. The coinage slightly changed in 2009, with a reduced 1 ouguiya in plated composition and a bi-metallic 20 ouguiya issued. A bi-metallic 50 ouguiya was issued December 2010.

• Obverse of 1 ouguiya coin, made of Aluminium bronze.
  Obverse of 1 ouguiya coin, made of Aluminium bronze.
• Reverse of 1 ouguiya coin, made of Aluminium bronze.
  Reverse of 1 ouguiya coin, made of Aluminium bronze.

Banknotes

In 1973, notes were issued by the Central Bank of Mauritania (Banque Centrale de Mauritanie) in denominations of 100, 200 and 1,000 ouguiya. In 1974, a second series of notes was issued in the same denominations, with 500-ouguiya notes added in 1979. Banknotes have been printed by Giesecke & Devrient in Munich, starting with the second issue.

File:100 Mauritania Ouguiya observe.jpg

Obverse of 100 ouguiya note issued in 2011 with Eastern Arabic numerals. The reverse features text in French and Western Arabic numerals.

New banknotes and new coins were introduced in 2004. These notes have completely new fronts and the vignettes on the backs have been redesigned to accommodate the reduction in size. The 2,000-ouguiya denomination is entirely new.

All but the 100 and 200 ouguiya notes have the denomination expressed in Arabic numerals in a holographic patch at right front. The serial numbers for all denominations now appear horizontally at upper left and lower center, and vertically at far right, all formatted with a 2-character prefix, 7-digit serial number, and 1-character suffix.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite book</ref>

An entirely new 5,000-ouguiya denomination dated 28 November 2009 was introduced on 8 August 2010, followed by a redesigned 2,000-ouguiya note dated 28 November 2011 issued on 1 February 2012.<ref name="auto"/>

Template:AnchorSecond ouguiya (MRU)

On 5 December 2017, the Central Bank of Mauritania announced a redenomination of its currency at a rate of 1:10. As part of the redenomination, a new series of coins were issued in denominations of 1 khoums (Template:Frac ouguiya), 1, 5, 10 and 20 ouguiya, with the latter being struck as a tri-metallic coin and a new series of banknotes in denominations of 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 ouguiya. The new ouguiya banknotes issued for the redenomination are printed entirely in polymer. As a consequence of this change, the ISO Currency Codes for the ouguiya were amended to MRU / 929 and the existing codes of MRO / 478 were retired as per ISO 4217 Amendment Number 165 dated 14 December 2017.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A 2 ouguiya coin was issued into circulation in 2018, serving as an intermediate denomination for the 1 and 5 ouguiya coins already in circulation. On 28 November 2021, the Central Bank of Mauritania issued a 20 ouguiya banknote, co-circulating with the coin of the same denomination in circulation. On 15 June 2023, the Central Bank of Mauritania issued a new 50 ouguiya banknote in celebration of 50 years of the circulation of the ouguiya in Mauritania, co-circulating with the previous banknote of the same denomination.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Banknotes of the Mauritanian ouguiya (2017 issues)
Image		Value	Main color	Description		Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse
		20 ouguiya	Red	Grand Mosque of Gataga in Kaedi	Guelb er Richât	28 November 2020
		50 ouguiya	Violet	Ibn Abbas mosque, Nouakchott	Teapot; musical instruments	28 November 2017
		100 ouguiya	Green	Tower	Cattle
		200 ouguiya	Yellow		Camels
		500 ouguiya	Blue		Trawler; fish
		1,000 ouguiya	Brown		Locomotive of an ore train

Coins of the Mauritanian ouguiya (2017-2018 issue)
Image	Value	Technical parameters				Description			Date of first minting
		Diameter	Thickness	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse
	Template:Frac ouguiya	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Copper-plated steel	Plain/Smooth	National seal of Mauritania; denomination	Fish; denomination	2017
	1 ouguiya	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Nickel-plated steel	Reeded/grained	National seal of Mauritania; denomination	Teapot; denomination	2017
	2 ouguiya	Template:Cvt		Template:Cvt	Stainless steel	Reeded/grained	National seal of Mauritania; denomination	National instruments; denomination	2018
	5 ouguiya	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Nickel-plated steel	Plain/smooth	National seal of Mauritania; denomination	Instruments; denomination	2017
	10 ouguiya	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Bi-metallic coin (Nickel-plated steel center with a Brass-plated steel ring)	Segmented (alternating between 10 plain and reeded sections)	National seal of Mauritania; denomination	Cow; denomination	2017
	20 ouguiya	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Tri-metallic coin (Bronze-plated steel center plug with a Nickel-plated steel inner ring and a Brass-plated steel outer ring)	Plain/smooth		Camels; denomination

See also

• Economy of Mauritania

External links

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• banknotenews.com