крyна/kruna (Serbo-Croatian), krona (Slovene) | |
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Demographics | |
Date of introduction | December 1918 |
User(s) | Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes |
Issuance | |
Central bank | National Bank of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes |
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. |
The Yugoslav krone ((crown) Serbo-Croatian: крyна / kruna; Slovene: krona) was a short-lived, provisional currency that was originally used in territories of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (KSCS, later renamed Yugoslavia), which had previously been part of Austria-Hungary. The currency was first issued in 1919 in the form of rubber-stamped and tagged Austro-Hungarian krone notes. In 1920, to allow the exchange of Austro-Hungarian krone and Serbian dinar notes for the new KSCS dinar, provisional, dual KSCS dinar-krone banknotes were issued with the krone amount overprinted; these notes circulated throughout the country. By 1 January 1923, the provisional notes were withdrawn from circulation and replaced with notes denominated only in dinars. According to the official exchange rate, the Yugoslav krone's value varied from one half of a Serbian dinar at its introduction to one quarter of a Serbian dinar or KSCS dinar at its withdrawal from circulation.
The decision to issue Austro-Hungarian krone notes in the territory of the KSCS was taken to separate KSCS fiscally from other Austro-Hungary-successor states and protect the KSCS market from inflationary pressures caused by printing of krone notes abroad. Austro-Hungarian krone notes were rubber stamped in 1919 to distinguish them from other Austro-Hungarian krone notes in circulation in other former Austro-Hungarian territories. The stamped currency notes were also later tagged using adhesive stamps. The KSCS government withheld twenty per cent of the notes submitted for tagging as a compulsory loan to the state.
The krone-to-dinar exchange rate was eventually set to four krone to one dinar. At the same time, the Serbian dinar was exchanged at par. Views about the rate remained conflicting in the KSCS and its successor states. Serbian sources say the exchange caused no adverse effects, while Croatian historians and public perception portray the exchange rate as unjust and deprived wealth to non-Serbian areas of the KSCS.