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Mongolian tögrög

Монгол төгрөг (Mongolian) ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ ᠲᠥᠭᠦᠷᠢᠭ
20,000 tögrög banknote
ISO 4217
Code	MNT (numeric: 496)
Subunit	0.01
Unit
Plural	The language(s) of this currency do(es) not have a morphological plural distinction.
Symbol	₮‎
Denominations
Subunit
1⁄100	möngö (мөнгө/ᠮᠥᠩᠭᠦ)
Banknotes
Freq. used	₮10, ₮20, ₮50, ₮100, ₮500, ₮1,000, ₮5,000, ₮10,000, ₮20,000
Rarely used	₮1, ₮5
Coins	₮20, ₮50, ₮100, ₮200, ₮500
Demographics
Date of introduction	1925
Replaced	Yuan, Mongolian dollar
User(s)	Mongolia
Issuance
Central bank	Bank of Mongolia
Website	www.mongolbank.mn
Valuation
Inflation	7.0%
Source	October 2024

The tögrög or tugrik (Mongolian Cyrillic: төгрөг, Mongolian script: ᠲᠥᠭᠦᠷᠢᠭ, transcription: tögürig; sign: ₮; code: MNT) is the official currency of Mongolia.

It was historically subdivided into 100 möngö (мөнгө / ᠮᠥᠩᠭᠦ). Currently, the lowest denomination in regular use is the 10-tögrög note, and the highest is the 20,000-tögrög note. In Unicode, the currency sign is U+20AE ₮ TUGRIK SIGN.

Etymology

The word tögrög (төгрөг) refers to "circle", or a "circular object" (i.e., a coin). Today, it is rarely used outside of referring to the currency, with the exception of the phrase tögrög sar (төгрөг сар), meaning 'full moon'.

History

The tögrög was introduced on December 9, 1925, at a value equal to one Soviet ruble, where one ruble or tögrög was equal to 18 grams (0.58 ozt) of silver. It replaced the Mongolian dollar and other currencies and became the sole legal currency on April 1, 1928.

Möngö coins are no longer in circulation as currency, owing to their negligible value. Today, they are sold online and to tourists as collectibles.

In 2010, the tögrög rose 15% against the US dollar, due to the growth of the mining industry in Mongolia. However, its exchange rate eroded by 24% from early 2013 to June 2014 due to falling foreign investment and mining revenue.

Coins

During socialism, the tögrög coin denominations were 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 50 möngö, and 1 tögrög. After the Mongolian People's Republic came to an end in 1992 and inflation surged, möngö coins were abandoned and larger tögrög values introduced.

Current Coins
Image		Value	Technical parameters				Description			Date of first minting
Obverse	Reverse		Diameter	Thickness	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse
		20 tögrög	17.5 mm	1.5 mm	0.78 g	Aluminium	Plain	Value	Soyombo	1994
		50 tögrög	23 mm	1.8 mm	1.68 g
		100 tögrög	22 mm	1.5 mm	3.84 g	Cupronickel		Value, Janraisig Temple
		200 tögrög	25 mm	1.7 mm	6.2 g			Value, the Government House
		500 tögrög	22 mm	1.7 mm	4.1 g		Smooth	Value, Soyombo	Damdin Sükhbaatar	2001
For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Banknotes

Like coins, the tögrög banknotes were very similar to the Soviet ruble during the Mongolian People's Republic era. The similarities included color theme, overall design, and the lineup of the denominations, which were 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 tögrög unless stated otherwise. The color for each value is

• 1 tögrög: brown
• 3 tögrög: green
• 5 tögrög: blue
• 10 tögrög: red
• 20 tögrög: green
• 25 tögrög: lilac
• 50 tögrög: green
• 100 tögrög: brown

Formerly, all banknotes were printed in the Soviet Union. Modern tögrög banknotes are generally printed in the United Kingdom.

1993 Series
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description			Date of printing	Usage
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	Watermark
		10 möngö	45 × 90 mm	Pink	Soyombo, Archery	Archery	—	1993	Very rare in circulation. Abundant among collectors.
		20 möngö	45 × 90 mm	Yellow-brown	Soyombo, Wrestling	Wrestling
		50 möngö	45 × 90 mm	Green-cyan	Soyombo, Horse riding	Horse riding
		1 tögrög (neg)	115 × 57 mm	Yellow-brown	Lion	Soyombo, Paiza	Genghis Khan	1993, 2008, 2014
		5 tögrög (tavan)	120 × 60 mm	Orange	Sükhbaatar, Soyombo, Paiza	Mountainous landscape and horses eating grass			Rarely used anywhere but in banks
		10 tögrög (arvan)	125 × 61 mm	Green				1993, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2020	The smallest commonly used note
		20 tögrög (horin)	130 × 64 mm	Reddish purple
		50 tögrög (tavin)	135 × 66 mm	Brown				1993, 2000, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020
		100 tögrög (zuun)	140 × 68 mm	Violet
		500 tögrög (tavan zuun)	145 × 70 mm	Green	Genghis Khan, Soyombo, Paiza	Mongolian yurts in motion		1993, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2013 2000, 2003, 2013, 2016, 2020
		1000 tögrög (myangan)	150 × 72 mm	Blue				1993, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2020 2003
		5000 tögrög (tavan myangan)	150 × 72 mm	Pink-purple		"Drinking Fountain" at Genghis Khan's court		1994, 2003, 2013, 2018
		10,000 tögrög (arvan myangan)	150 × 72 mm	goldish yellow				1995, 2002, 2009, 2014, 2021
		20,000 tögrög (horin myangan)	151 × 72 mm	Lime and purple		Nine White Banner		2006, 2009, 2013, 2019
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Remarks

1. Images shown are the earliest variations of each value
2. Issued dates are listed for up to 2003. It is known that there is a 2005 edition of 10 tögrög, but it is yet unclear whether or not it was the only value for the 2005 edition.
3. Lower value notes (10 ~ 500 tögrög) issued in 2000 and after have line-patterned color underprint on the entire note, where the previous edition had near-white solid color. But one exception to the rule is the 2000 edition of 500 tögrög.
4. High value notes (500 ~ 10,000 tögrög) issued in 2002 and after have a patch on the lower right hand side of obverse as an improved anti-counterfeit device, which used to be printed only on the two highest values. The new patch is also more sophisticated than the ones in the 1990s. The Soyombo symbol was upgraded to a hologram on the two highest values. On series 2018 5000 tögrög, the hologram was changed to an OVMI ink.

See also

• Economy of Mongolia

References

1. Bank of Mongolia - Inflation
2. Bank of Mongolia. "History – National Currency – Togrog". Archived from the original on 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
3. Frangos, Alex (3 January 2011). "Hot Money Roils Growth Currencies". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2018-01-01.(subscription required)
4. Chi, Leisha (17 August 2016). "The sudden slide of the world's worst performing currency". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-01-01.

External links

• Banknotes of Mongolia, Bank of Mongolia
• Website at the Bank of Mongolia with history of Mongolian currency and pictures of tögrög

• Asia
• Money
• Numismatics

• Currencies with ISO 4217 code
• Economy of Mongolia
• Currency symbols
• Circulating currencies
• Currencies introduced in 1925
• Currencies of Asia