History of Maldive Currency
Boli
Cowry shells (
Cypraea moneta), or
boli, were the first known medium of exchange used in the
Maldives.
Various writers and travellers have in the past recorded the country's
trade in these money shells, which were used as a medium of exchange in
parts of
Asia and
Africa. In the past, cowry were actually cultivated in the Maldives. When
Moroccan traveler and historian
Ibn Battuta
visited there in the 14th century, the Maldives was trading extensively
with the money shells. The shells were also used to make ornaments. The
country's trade in cowry shells, which attracted the particular
attention of the
Dutch in
Ceylon, continued until the late 19th century, when it was used mostly as
ballast for sailing vessels.
Dhigu laari
According to history, the first dhigu laari was struck in the
Maldives, during the reign of Sultan Ibrahim III ibn Ghazi Muhammed
(1585-1607), son of the hero Sultan Ghazi Muhammed Thakurufa'anu Akbar
al-'Azam. Dhigu laari or larin, which owes its name to Lar, in the Persian Gulf, where it was originally struck, was one of the standard currencies of the Indian Ocean
in the late 16th century. The dhigu laari is actually a long piece of
silver, about three inches in length, doubled over and stamped with the
name of the sultan, in Arabic.
Loa Laari
Loa laari or laari fothi ("circular coin") was first struck by Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar I (1648-1687). The first coins were of silver and fairly coarse. Later, coins of copper and lead were put in to circulation. Gold
coins were also struck by Sultan Hassan Nooraddin (1779-1799). Said to
be the finest struck at the Maldive mint, the two denominations of gold
coins issued by Sultan Hassan Nooraddin, known as the mohori and bai mohori, were never put into circulation.
Today
The Maldivian unit of currency is the rufiyaa (ISO 4217 code MVR, symbol Rf.), introduced in 1981. The rufiyaa is divided into 100 laari. On 1 February 2009, the exchange rate with the US dollar was USD1.00 = MVR12.82.
