Last updated: September 2026

What currency does Bosnia and Herzegovina use?

The convertible mark, abbreviated KM. The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina states it plainly: "Monetary unit of Bosnia and Herzegovina is convertible mark (KM). Convertible mark is divided in hundred of fenings (F)" (Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, KM banknotes).

Five denominations circulate today: 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 KM. The first notes reached the public on 22 June 1998 in denominations of 50 fening, 1 KM, 5 KM and 10 KM. The 20, 50 and 100 KM followed on 27 July 1998, and the 200 KM completed the family on 15 May 2002. The bank's Bosnian-language edition gives exactly the same three dates, so there is no disagreement between the editions to work around (Centralna banka Bosne i Hercegovine, Novčanice KM).

Coins arrived alongside the notes and eventually took over the small values. The first convertible mark coins were issued on 9 December 1998 in 10, 20 and 50 fening, then 1 KM and 2 KM on 31 July 2000, and finally 5 fening and 5 KM on 5 January 2006 (Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 25 years of the convertible mark, 22 June 2023). The small banknotes went as the coins came in, which is why a 50 fening note is a short-lived curiosity rather than a common survivor.

Who issues Bosnia and Herzegovina's banknotes?

The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was established under a law adopted by the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 20 June 1997, and it started operating on 11 August 1997, a little under a year before the first banknotes appeared.

The bank describes its goals and tasks as defined by that law "and in accordance with the General Peace Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina", and it issues the domestic currency under a currency board arrangement (Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, general information about the bank). Its head office is in Sarajevo, with main units in Sarajevo, Mostar and Banja Luka and branches in Brčko and Pale.

That structure is worth holding in mind when you look at the notes, because the two design versions follow the same institutional shape. A country with one central bank, one currency and two note designs per denomination is genuinely unusual, and it is the single most collectable thing about Bosnian paper money.

What money circulated before the convertible mark?

Dinar issues. The convertible mark did not exist until 1998, and the best documented of the currencies that circulated in the country before it is the Republika Srpska dinar.

Its record is unusually complete. The National Bank of Republika Srpska began issuing it on 1 July 1992, ran it through a first series that climbed from 10 dinara to 10,000,000,000 dinara, replaced it with a second series on 1 October 1993, and stopped issuing in January 1994. Republika Srpska then used the Yugoslav dinar until 1998, when the convertible mark replaced it. The full account, with catalogue numbers and the notes that were printed and never released, is on our page about the Republika Srpska hyperinflation of 1992 to 1994, and the larger Belgrade episode running alongside it is on our Yugoslav hyperinflation page.

There is a neat link between that period and the money in Bosnian pockets today. The second Republika Srpska dinar series of 1993 carried a portrait of the writer Petar Kočić, who lived from 1877 to 1916. Kočić is on the Republika Srpska design of the 100 KM note now. The other dinar issues that circulated elsewhere in Bosnia and Herzegovina during those years are not catalogued on this page. For the wider Yugoslav-successor picture, see our Yugoslavia banknotes hub.

Why does each denomination have two different designs?

Because the central bank issues them that way. The CBBH states that the 10, 20, 50 and 100 KM notes "are issued in two versions of design per each mentioned denomination, for Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, while the banknote in KM 200 denomination is printed in one version of design for the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina". It adds that all KM banknotes in circulation are legal tender in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The two versions share a format and a colour but not a subject. On the 10 KM, orange and 130 by 65 mm, the Federation design carries the writer Mehmedalija Mak Dizdar with a fragment of the Križevići tombstone on the back, while the Republika Srpska design carries the poet Aleksa Šantić with a loaf of bread. On the 20 KM, grey and 138 by 68 mm, it is the writer Antun Branko Šimić with a fragment of the Radimlja tombstone against the folk song narrator Filip Višnjić with a gusle.

The pattern holds up the ladder. The 50 KM, red and 146 by 71 mm, pairs the writer Musa Ćazim Ćatić and a fragment of the Zgošća tombstone with the writer Jovan Dučić and a pen, eyeglasses and book. The 100 KM, brown and 154 by 74 mm, pairs the writer Nikola Šop, also with the Zgošća tombstone, and the writer Petar Kočić with a pen, eyeglasses and book. Every one of the eight portraits is a writer, a poet or a narrator, which makes this one of the most literary currencies in Europe. Our page on portraits on banknotes sets that choice against what other countries put on their money.

Bosnia and Herzegovina banknotes at a glance

Issuers, dates, denominations and designs below come from the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina's own banknote and withdrawal pages. Portraits are given by design version, in the order the bank lists them.

Which issue years exist, and where is the date printed?

The convertible mark has been reprinted many times, and the bank publishes the list. Its security features page groups the notes by issue year, and it also explains where to find the year on the note itself, which is the first thing to learn if you are sorting a pile of Bosnian paper.

The instruction is exact: "The banknotes from the first series (1998) do not have a specified year of issue. With other issues, the year is specified below the text GUVERNER in the lower left corner of the face of the banknote" (Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, security features of KM banknotes). A note with no year in that corner is a 1998 first-series note, and that single rule turns an undated series into a datable one.

The bank announced the 2012 printing in advance, explaining that the new notes were produced "in accordance with the regular activities of the CBBH, intending to provide a sufficient number of banknotes of the adequate denomination structure" and that their main characteristic was improved paper quality and security features (Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, press release, 23 May 2012). The most recent printings, dated 2024, went into circulation on 13 March 2024 and were confirmed in the trade press two months later (Banknote News, 18 May 2024). Our reference on banknote security features explains the threads, windows and colour-shifting inks involved.

Which convertible mark banknotes have been withdrawn?

Quite a lot of them, and the most recent withdrawal was very large. The small denominations went first: 50 fening notes stopped being legal tender on 1 January 2003, 1 KM notes on 1 January 2009 and 5 KM notes on 1 January 2010, with coins taking their place.

Then, on 1 January 2025, every 10, 20, 50 and 100 KM banknote put into circulation between 1998 and 2009 ceased to be legal tender at once. The bank lists the exact printings covered: 10, 20, 50 and 100 KM dated 1998; 50 and 100 KM dated 2002; 50 and 100 KM dated 2007; 10, 20, 50 and 100 KM dated 2008; and the 50 KM dated 2009 (Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, withdrawal of banknotes from circulation).

The replacement window is published and finite. Commercial banks in Bosnia and Herzegovina replaced the withdrawn notes during 2025, and after that period expired the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina replaces them "within a period of 10 years, starting from January 1, 2026, and ending on December 31, 2035" (Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, withdrawn KM banknotes). A dated end point is unusual, and it is the fact that most changes a collector's thinking here: notes handed back before 2035 leave the surviving population for good, and notes kept back stay in it. Our page on currencies that no longer exist covers the same mechanism in countries that have gone further.

How do you start collecting Bosnia and Herzegovina banknotes?

Collect in pairs. The obvious first set is one Federation design and one Republika Srpska design of each of the 10, 20, 50 and 100 KM, plus a single 200 KM, which is nine notes and tells the whole story of the currency in one album page.

After that the depth comes from issue years. The 50 KM alone has nine recorded issue years, from the undated 1998 first series through to 2024, in two designs each, so a complete 50 KM run is a serious project built from a single denomination. Use the bank's lower-left corner rule to date every note before you file it, and remember that the 1998 notes carry no printed year at all.

Learn the grading ladder before you spend. Grades run from Uncirculated down through AU, XF, VF, F, VG and G, and the certified market uses a 1 to 70 scale: see our banknote grading guide and graded versus raw banknotes. Catalogue numbering is explained in our guide to Pick numbers, what determines banknote value covers condition and scarcity, and how to store banknotes matters for the 1998 notes, which are now more than a quarter of a century old. Collectors who enjoy this material usually move on to Germany or to the history of the euro banknotes.

Where can you buy Bosnia and Herzegovina banknotes?

Buy from an established dealer that authenticates every note, documents where it came from, and stands behind it in writing. Prices far below every other seller, vague sourcing and no returns are the signals to walk away from.

Planet Banknote sources notes direct from mints, central banks and authorized distributors rather than reselling anonymous lots. Browse the current selection through the banknotes by country directory, where availability changes with what has been sourced. Our guide to buying world banknotes safely and how to collect world banknotes cover the rest.

Planet Banknote is a family-owned dealership in Sarasota, Florida, founded in 2021. Every note is sourced direct from mints, central banks, and authorized distributors, inspected through our Planet Banknote Verified process, and ships with a free Certificate of Authenticity. US orders ship free via USPS Priority, and every order includes a free bonus gift.