Currency of United Arab Emirates (UAE)

UAE Dirham: UAE Currency

Most of us expats, if not all are in UAE to earn money and save money! It is also true that most of us earn our salaries / income in Dirhams. In this post, I will be covering various UAE currencies that are currently under circulation.

History of UAE Currency:

Dirham as a word is derived from Greek word Drachmae, which means ‘HANDFUL’ through Latin. UAE Dirham was officially launched on May 19th 1973 as UAE Currency. Prior to that UAE used different currencies like Dubai Riyal, Dinar, Saudi Riyal, Gulf Rupee etc. Indian Rupee for most part prior to 1970’s was commonly used in trade due to the large contingent of Indian traders.  UAE Currency is referred to as Emirate Dirham, AED, DHS, DH and in Arabic ‘د.إ’

Official sign (symbol) of Dirham :

UAE Dirham has no official symbol like US$ or UK Pound. In English the amount of currency is preceded by ‘AED’ or ‘د.إ’ in Arabic. UAE Dirhams are officially issued by Central Bank of UAE.

Various Denominations of Currencies:

UAE Dirham currently has coins and paper notes in circulation.

UAE Currency	Coin / Note
25 Fils	Coin
50 Fils	Coin
1 Dirham	Coin
5 Dirham	Note
10 Dirham	Note
20 Dirham	Note
50 Dirham	Note
100 Dirham	Note
200 Dirham	Note
500 Dirham	Note
1000 Dirham	Note

The UAE Dirham has following coins: 25 Fils, 50 Fils and 1 Dirham

The UAE Dirham has following notes currently in circulation: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000

Below you will find images of various coins and paper notes of UAE Dirhams.

UAE Dirham Currency Coins:

25 Fils

50 Fils

1 Dirham Coin:

Dirham Paper Notes:

5 Dirham Note

AED 10 Note

AED 20 Note

AED 50 Note

AED 100 Note

AED 200 Note

AED 500 Note

AED 1000 Note