5000000 Dinara YUD #600

Front

The front of this note bears ornate geometric guilloche patterns with the denomination 1000 in four corners and the central circular medallion displaying 1000. The text 'SOCIJALISTICKA FEDERATIVNA REPUBLIKA JUGOSLAVIJA' appears in both Latin and Cyrillic scripts. This is the obverse of a 1000 Dinar note that was later overprinted with 5000000 (5 million) denomination during Yugoslavia's extreme hyperinflation period of 1993, when inflation reached astronomical rates and the National Bank was forced to repeatedly overprint existing low-denomination notes with exponentially higher values rather than print entirely new designs.

Back

Nikola Tesla (1856–1943), Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. Tesla was born in Smiljan, Austrian Empire (modern-day Croatia), and his work revolutionized electrical power generation and distribution. He is one of the most celebrated figures in Serbian and Yugoslav cultural heritage, appearing on multiple Yugoslav and Serbian banknote series. The note displays the overprinted denomination of 5000000 DINARA and includes the serial number AA 4347908.

History

This note represents one of the most extreme episodes of hyperinflation in monetary history. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) began disintegrating in 1991–1992, and by 1993 the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) was experiencing hyperinflation that peaked at approximately 313 million percent per month in January 1994. The Narodna Banka Jugoslavije resorted to overprinting existing lower-denomination notes with exponentially higher values—this 1000 Dinar note was overprinted to become 5,000,000 Dinara. The 1993 hyperinflation series included denominations up to 500 billion Dinara by December 1993. The currency collapsed completely by January 1994, when the 'super dinar' reform introduced a new dinar at a rate of 1:10,000,000 (ten million old dinara). The hyperinflation was driven by war costs from the Yugoslav Wars, international sanctions, and the complete breakdown of economic institutions. Pick #136 documents this specific overprint issue. Designer D. Andrić is credited on both sides.