Currency

The Kuna is the currency of Croatia. Kuna is the Croatian word for Marten: Marten pelts were used as units of value for trading during medieval times.

Here are two Kuna. (they are stuffed)

1 Canadian dollar = 4.47 Croatian kune

The Kuna banknote was first issued by the government in 1941 in denominations of 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 kuna.

The modern Kuna (today's) was introduced in 1994. It is subdivided into Lipa. (The word Lipa means Linden (Lime) tree) In 1994, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 lipa, 1, 2 and 5 kuna. The Lipa coins all have plants on them while the Kuna coins have animals.

An interesting side note about Croatian coins: The coins are issued in two versions: one with the name of the plant or animal in Croatian (issued in odd years) and the other with the name in Latin. (issued in even years)

Here is a list of the coins and what they depict:

1 lipa ~ kukuruz (maize)

2 lipe ~ vinova loza (grape vine)

5 lipa ~ hrast lužnjak (oak)
10 lipa ~ duhan (tobacco)

20 lipa ~ maslina (olive)

50 lipa ~ velebitska degenija (degenia)

1 kuna ~ slavuj (nightingale)

2 kune ~ tuna (tuna)

5 kuna ~ mrki medvjed (brown bear)

Here is a list of banknotes and what they depict:

10 kuna ~ Juraj Dobrila (a notable bishop) and on the reverse is the Arena Colosseum in Pula

20 kuna ~ Josip Jelačić (a noted army general) and on the reverse is the castle of Count Eltz in Vukovar

50 kuna ~ Ivan Gundulić (a celebrated Croatian Baroque poet) and on the reverse is Dubrovnik

100 kuna ~ Ivan Mažuranić (a Croatian poet, linguist and politician) and on the reverse is the church of St. Vid in Rijeka

200 kuna ~ Stjepan Radić (a Croatian politician) and on the reverse is the building of the High Command at Tvrđa in Osijek

500 kuna ~ Marko Marulić (a Croatian poet and Christian humanist) and on the reverse is the Diocletian's Palace in Split

1000 kuna ~ Ante Starčević (a Croatian politician and writer) and on the reverse is the Statue of King Tomislav and the Zagreb Cathedral

Here are some pictures of the money:

The coins: going from 1 Lipa to 5 Kuna.