The nakfa is the currency

Currency

In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...

 of Eritrea

Eritrea

Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...

. It is divided into 100 cent

Cent (currency)

In many national currencies, the cent is a monetary unit that equals 1⁄100 of the basic monetary unit. Etymologically, the word cent derives from the Latin word "centum" meaning hundred. Cent also refers to a coin which is worth one cent....

s. The currency was introduced in 1997 to replace the Ethiopian birr

Ethiopian birr

The birr is the unit of currency in Ethiopia. Before 1976, dollar was the official English translation of birr. Today, it is officially birr in English as well....

 at par, and it was named after the town of Nakfa

Nakfa, Eritrea

Nakfa is a town in northern Eritrea, after which the nakfa currency is named. It served as the base for the Eritrean People's Liberation Front, during the Eritrean War of Independence....

.

For an earlier currency of Eritrea, see tallero

Eritrean tallero

The tallero was the currency of Eritrea between 1890 and 1921. It was subdivided into 5 lire, each of 100 centesimi. The lira was equivalent to the Italian lira....

.

Coins

Coins are made entirely of Nickel

Nickel

Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...

 clad Steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

. Each coin

Coin

A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....

 has a different reeded edge, instead of consistent reeding for all denominations. The 1 nakfa coin carries the denomination "100 cents".

Coin denominations:

• 1 cent
• 5 cents
• 10 cents
• 25 cents
• 50 cents
• 100 cents (1 nakfa)

Banknotes

Banknotes come in denominations of:

• 1 nakfa
• 5 nakfa
• 10 nakfa
• 20 nakfa
• 50 nakfa
• 100 nakfa

There are two issues of banknotes. The first issue of all denominations is dated 24 May 1997; the second issue consists of only the 50- and 100-nakfa notes and is dated 24 May 2004 (May 24 is Eritrea's Independence Day).
The nakfa has been pegged with the United States dollar

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

 at 1 dollar = 15 nakfa since January 1, 2005.

External links

• Regulations concerning the nakfa from Afrol news