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UAE dirham

United Arab Emirates dirham

The dirham (Arabic: درهم‎) (sign: د.إ; code: AED) is the currency of the United Arab Emirates. The ISO 4217 code (currency abbreviation) for the United Arab Emirates dirham is AED. Unofficial abbreviations include DH or Dhs. The dirham is subdivided into 100 fils (فلس).


The United Arab Emirates dirham was introduced December 1971. It replaced the Qatar and Dubai riyal at par. The Qatar and Dubai riyal had circulated since 1966 in all of the emirates except Abu Dhabi, where the dirham replaced the Bahraini dinar at 1 dirham = 0.1 dinar. Before 1966, all the emirates that were to form the UAE used the Gulf rupee. As in Qatar, the emirates briefly adopted the Saudi riyal during the transition from the Gulf rupee to the Qatar and Dubai riyal.
On January 28, 1978, the dirham was officially pegged to the IMF's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).[1] In practice, it is pegged to the U.S. dollar for most of the time.[2] Since November 1997, the dirham has been pegged to the 1 U.S. dollar = 3.6725 dirhams,[3] which translates to approximately 1 dirham = 0.272294 dollar.
The name Dirham derives from the Greek word Drachmae, literally meaning "handful", through Latin.[4] Due to centuries of old trade and usage of the currency, dirham survived through the Ottoman regime.



The value and numbers on the coins are written in Eastern Arabic numerals and the text is in Arabic. The 1, 5 and 10 fils coins are rarely used in everyday life, so all amounts are rounded up or down to the nearest multiples of 25 fils. The 1 fils coin is a rarity and does not circulate significantly. In making change there is a risk of confusing the old 50 fils coin for the modern 1 dirham coin because the coins are almost the same size.

Since 1976 the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates has minted several commemorative coins celebrating different events and rulers of the United Arab Emirates. For details, see Commemorative coins of the United Arab Emirates dirham.
[edit] Issues with fraud

By August 2006 it became publicly known that the Philippine one peso coin is the same size as one dirham.[5] As 1 peso is only worth 8 fils, this has led to vending machine fraud in the U.A.E. The Australian ten cent coin is the same size, shape and weight as the U.A.E. Dirham. Pakistan's 5 Rupee coin, the Omani 50 Baisa coin and the Moroccan Dirham is also the same size as the U.A.E. one Dirham coin.

A falcon watermark is present on all dirham notes in order to prevent fraud.


In 1973, the U.A.E. Currency Board introduced notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 1000 dirham. A second series of note was introduced in 1982 which omitted the 1 and 1000 dirham notes. 500 dirham notes were introduced in 1983, followed by 200 dirham in 1989. 1000 dirham notes were reintroduced in 2000. Banknotes are currently available in denominations of 5 (brown), 10 (green), 20 (light blue), 50 (purple), 100 (pink), 200 (green/brown), 500 (navy blue) and 1000 (greenish blue) dirham.
The obverse texts are written in Arabic with numbers in Eastern Arabic numerals; the reverse texts are in English with numbers in Arabic numerals. The 200 dirham denomination is scarce as it was only produced in 1989; any circulating today come from bank stocks. The 200 dirham denomination has since been reissued and is now in circulation since late May 2008 - it has been reissued in a different colour; Yellow/Brown to replace the older Green/Brown.[6]
1982 Series
Image Value Main Color Dimensions (mm) Description
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse
UAE 5 dirham bill obverse.jpg UAE 5 dirham bill reverse.jpg 5 Dirham Brown 157 x 67 Sharjah Central Souq also known as Islamic Souq, the Blue Souq or the central market (souq meaning market in Arabic) a landscape in the Northern Emirates
UAE 10 dirham bill obverse.jpg UAE 10 dirham bill reverse.jpg 10 Dirham Green 147 x 62 The khanjar (Arabic: خنجر) is the traditional dagger of Oman a pilot farm
UAE 20 dirham bill obverse.jpg UAE 20 dirham bill reverse.jpg 20 dirham Blue 149 x 63 The front face of the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club Traditional trading dhow (called sama'a)
UAE 50 dirham obverse.jpg UAE 50 dirham reverse.jpg 50 dirham Purple 151 x 64 an oryx (غزال) pre-Islamic fort in Al Ain
UAE 100 dirham bill obverse.jpg UAE 100 dirham bill reverse.jpg 100 dirham Pink 155 x 66 Fahidi Fort Dubai World Trade Centre building
UAE 200 dirham bill obverse.jpg UAE 200 dirham bill reverse.jpg 200 dirham Green / Brown 157 x 67 the Zayed Sports City Central Bank of the UAE Building
UAE 500 dirham bill obverse.jpg UAE 500 dirham bill reverse.jpg 500 dirham Navy blue 159 x 68 a falcon's head The Jumeirah Mosque, one of the best known mosques in the UAE
UAE 1000 dirham bill obverse.jpg UAE 1000 dirham bill reverse.jpg 1000 dirham Greenish-blue 163 X 70 Al Hosn Palace Abu Dhabi Corniche
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CURRENCY AND EXCHANGE RATES Currency The dirham (pronounced dir-ham) is the official currency of the UAE. Dirham notes are in 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 denominations. The dirham is divided into 100 fils, coins include Dh1, 50, 25, 10 and 5 fils (10 and 5 fils are rarely used). The value is written in Arabic only but Arabic numerals are easy to memorize (see section on Arabic Language). UAE Exchange There are no currency regulations and foreign currency of almost any denomination is readily exchanged in the UAE. The dirham is index linked to the dollar and the official exchange rate is Dh3.671 = US$ 1.00. The best exchange rates are generally available at private moneychangers found throughout the UAE, but especially in the more popular souqs and shopping centres.

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