Morocco is a North African country bordering the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and the Moroccan Dirham (MAD) is its national currency. The Bank al-Maghrib regulates the circulation and issue of the Moroccan dirham which is made up of 100 santimat. The dirham is the official currency of Morocco, it is still sometimes referred to as rial in colloquial language although the usage is gradually dying out.
Modern coins made out of silver, copper, and gold were introduced in 1882 with the silver coins being called dirham. The Moroccan rial also became the country’s official currency in 1882. One rial divides into 10 dirhams or 50 mazunas. When most of the country became a French protectorate in 1912, the rial was replaced by the Moroccan franc. In 1956, Morocco's independence began the dirham was reintroduced. The franc continued in circulation until it was replaced by the santim in 1974. The MAD coins have denominations of ½, 1, 2, 5, and 10 dirhams and the banknotes have denominations of 20, 50, 100, and 200 dirhams. The series of MAD banknotes issued in August 2013 features the royal crown and a portrait of King Mohammed VI, as well as an image of a Moroccan doorway, as an acknowledgment of Morocco’s architectural heritage and an allusion to its openness.
