Croatian kuna

The kuna is the currency of Croatia since 1994 (ISO 4217 code: HRK). It is subdivided into 100 lipa. The kuna is issued by the Croatian National Bank and the coins are minted by the Croatian Monetary Institute.

The word "kuna" means "marten" in Croatian since it is based on the use of marten pelts as units of value in medieval trading. The word lipa means "linden (lime) tree".

History and etymology

During Roman times, in the provinces of upper and lower Pannonia (today Hungary and Slavonia), taxes were collected in the then highly valued marten skins. Hence, the Croatian word "marturina" or tax, derived from the Latin word "martus" (Croatian: "kuna"). The kuna was a currency unit in several Slavic states, most notably Kievan Rus and its successors until the early 15th century. It was equal to ¹⁄₂₅ (later ¹⁄₅₀) gryvna of silver.

It has no relation to the various Slavic currencies named "koruna" (translated as kruna in Croatian) which means "crown".

In the Middle Ages, many foreign monies were used in Croatia, but since at least 1018 a local currency was in use. Between 1260 and 1380, Croatian Viceroys issued a marten-adorned silver coin called the banovac. However, the diminishing autonomy of Croatia within the Croatian-Hungarian Kingdom led to the gradual disappearance of that currency in the 14th century.