100 guilder of 1985 1 guilder or 100 cents ⁄100 cent cent cents | Code SRG Plural guilders Symbol ƒ or fl | |
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The guilder (Dutch: gulden; ISO 4217 code: SRG) was the currency of Suriname until 2004, when it was replaced by the Surinamese dollar. It was divided into 100 cents. Until the 1940s, the plural in Dutch was cents, with centen appearing on some early paper money, but after the 1940s the Dutch plural became cent.
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History
The Surinamese guilder was initially at par with the Dutch guilder. In 1940, following the occupation of the Netherlands, the currency (along with the Netherlands Antillean guilder) was tied to the U.S. dollar at a rate of 1.88585 guilders = 1 dollar.
The Surinamese guilder suffered from high inflation in the beginning of the 1990s. It was replaced by the Surinamese dollar on 1 January 2004 at a rate of 1 dollar = 1000 guilders. To save cost of manufacturing, coins of less than 5 guilders (all denominated in cents) were made legal for their face value in the new currency. Thus, these coins increased their purchasing power by 1000 fold overnight.
Coins
Until 1942, Dutch coins circulated in Suriname. Starting that year, coins were minted in the United States for use in Netherlands Guiana, some of which also circulated in the Netherlands Antilles. These coins were in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 25 cents.
In 1962, coins were introduced bearing the name Suriname for the first time. These were in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 25 cents and 1 guilder. The 1 cent was bronze, the 5 cent nickel-brass, the 10 and 25 cents were cupro-nickel and the 1 guilder was silver. Aluminium 1 and 5 cent coins were introduced in 1974 and 1976. In 1987, copper-plated steel replaced aluminium in the 1 and 5 cent coins and cupro-nickel 100 and 250 cent coins were introduced.