Azerbaijani Manat (AZN)

The Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan (CBAR), headquartered in Baku, serves as the country's monetary authority. Originally called the Azerbaijan National Bank when established in 1992, it was renamed in 2009 to reflect its expanded regulatory role. The CBAR issues banknotes, manages foreign exchange reserves built from oil revenues, and supervises the banking sector. When sending money to Azerbaijan, transfers convert at rates closely tracking the official peg, with the Manat's stability backed by petroleum exports and the State Oil Fund.

The modern Manat emerged on January 1, 2006, when Azerbaijan redenominated its currency at 5,000 old Manats (AZM) per 1 new Manat (AZN). The previous Manat had replaced the Soviet ruble in 1992 following independence, but hyperinflation through the 1990s eroded its value — 50,000 Manat notes became commonplace by 1996. The redenomination stripped four zeros from prices and restored monetary credibility. Robert Kalina, the Austrian designer who created the Euro banknotes, designed the new AZN notes, giving them a distinctly European aesthetic. A 200 Manat note added in 2018 commemorated national leader Heydar Aliyev's 95th birthday.

Azerbaijan's banknotes celebrate the theme Independent Azerbaijan across all denominations. The 1 Manat displays traditional instruments (tar, kamancha, daf) against carpet patterns. The 5 Manat shows ancient manuscripts and includes excerpts from the national anthem. The 10 Manat features İçərişəhər (the Old City fortress in Baku, a UNESCO World Heritage site). The 100 Manat traces Azerbaijani architecture from ancient fortresses to modern Baku's Flame Towers. Every note bears a schematic map of Azerbaijan on the reverse. Redesigned notes (1, 5, and 50 Manat) issued in 2021 preserved these motifs while upgrading security features.

The symbol ₼ was designed by Robert Kalina in 2006 and drew inspiration from the Euro sign (€). It resembles a single-bar Euro sign rotated 90° clockwise — a visual connection to European currency design principles. Unicode adopted the symbol at code point U+20BC in 2013 after earlier proposals failed between 2008 and 2011. The word manat derives from the Russian монета (moneta), meaning coin, which itself traces to the Latin monēta. This etymology mirrors the Soviet-era usage where manat served as the Azerbaijani and Turkmen translation of ruble on banknotes. The qəpik subunit takes its name from the Russian kopek.