Mauritian rupee

The rupee is the current currency of Mauritius. It is divided into 100 cents. The ISO 4217 code of the currency is MUR. 1MUR=100 centimes

History

The rupee was established by law in 1876 as the local currency of Mauritius. The rupee was chosen due to the massive inflow of Indian rupees following Indian immigration to Mauritius. The Mauritian rupee was introduced in 1877 to replace the different currencies in circulation: the Indian rupee, the pound sterling and the Mauritian dollar. The Mauritian rupee was equal to one Indian rupee or half a Mauritian dollar. The pound sterling was worth 10 1/4 rupees at that time. The Mauritian currency also circulated in the Seychelles until 1914, when it was replaced by the Seychellois rupee at par.

In 1934, a peg to sterling replaced the peg to the Indian rupee, at the rate of 1 rupee = 1 shilling 6 pence (the rate at which the Indian rupee was also pegged. This rate, equivalent to 13 1/3 rupees = 1 pound sterling, was maintained until 1979.

Coins

In 1877, coins for 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 cents were introduced, with the lower three denominations in copper and the higher two in silver. Coin production ceased in 1899 and did not recommence until 1911, with silver coins not produced again until 1934, when 1/4, 1/2 and 1 rupee coins were introduced. In 1947, a cupronickel 10 cent coin was introduced. Coins made of cupronickel replaced the other silver coins in 1950.

Mauritius did not gain independance from the UK and become a republic until 1992. In 1987, a new series of coins was introduced which, for the first time, did not feature the portrait of the queen of England, but rather that of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam. This new coinage consisted of copper plated steel 1 and 5 cents (the 5 cents was substantially reduced in size), nickel-plated-steel 20 cents and 1/2 rupee, and cupronickel 1 and 5 rupees. The ten rupee banknote was replaced by a cupronickel 10 rupee coin in 1997. Currently the only denominations of coins remaining in circulation on Mauritius are the 1, 5 and 10 rupee coins.

Banknotes

The first Mauritian banknotes were issued by the Government of Mauritius in 1876 and came in denominations of 5, 10 and 50 rupees. A 1 rupee notes was added to the series in 1919. In 1940, due to the metal shortage caused by the war, emergency issues were introduced in the denominations of 25 and 50 cents and 1 rupee. In 1954 the Government of Mauritius introduced a new series of banknotes depicting the new queen; Queen Elizabeth II. The 1954 series of banknotes was issued in denominations of 5, 10, 25 and 1000 rupees. The 1954 banknotes of 1000 rupees are extremely rare and highly collectable.

In 1966 the responsibility for the issuance of banknotes and coins was passed from the government to the Bank of Mauritius. The Bank of Mauritius issued its first banknote series in 1967, comprising 4 denominations: 5, 10, 25 and 50 rupees. This set of banknotes went through four issues, with the only variations being the sign

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