| Local Name1: | Kuna Nezavisne Države Hrvatske |
| Local Name Lang1: | hr |
| Image 1: | 1 kuna 25 rujna 1942a.jpg |
| Image Background 1: | black |
| Using Countries: | Independent State of Croatia |
| Symbol: | Kn |
| Used Coins: | 1, 2 kuna |
| Used Banknotes: | 50 banica, 1, 2, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000 kuna |
| Subunit Name 1: | banica |
| Plural: | kune (2-4) kuna (higher amounts, nominative) |
| Plural Slavic: | Kuna, Kune |
| Issuing Authority: | Croatian State Bank (Croatian: Hrvatska državna banka) |
| Date Of Introduction: | 26 July 1941 |
| Obsolete: | 8 May 1945 |
The kuna (in Croatian pronounced as /kǔːna/; sign: Kn) was the currency of the Independent State of Croatia from 1941 until 1945.[1] This kuna was subdivided into 100 banica. It was preceded and replaced by the Yugoslav dinar.
The word means "marten" in Croatian and the same name is used for the modern Croatian kuna currency, which was later replaced with the euro.[2] [3]
The Croatian kuna was introduced in the Independent State of Croatia on 26 July 1941. Italian lira and German Reichsmark were printed parallel to the kuna and in occupied countries, but were not legal tender in Nazi Germany.[4] The kuna replaced the Yugoslav dinar at par and was fixed to the Reichsmark with dual exchange rates, one fixed at 20 kuna = 1 RM, the other a state-stimulated rate of:
The kuna was withdrawn from circulation from 30 June to 9 July 1945 and replaced by the 1944 issue of the Yugoslav dinar at a rate of 40 kuna = 1 dinar.
Kuna banknotes were introduced by the government in 1941, in denominations of 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 kuna. These were followed in 1942 by notes for 50 banicas and 1 and 2 kunas. In 1943, the Croatian State Bank introduced 100, 1000 and 5000 kuna notes. The notes were printed in Germany by the Giesecke+Devrient.
Zinc coins were issued in denominations of 1 and 2 kuna in 1941. Circulations of the 1 kuna coin were insignificant which made the coin itself extremely rare.[5] One gold coin with two separate designs valued at 500 kuna was minted in 1941. It consisted of 9.95 grams of .900 fine gold, however it never entered circulation.[6]
Notes were also issued by Yugoslav partisan groups. These included the Zagreb Government Region Anti-Fascist Authority and the State Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia, commonly abbreviated as ZAVNOH. The Zagreb Government Region issued notes for 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000 and 50,000 kunas. The ZAVNOH issued notes in 1943, denominated in both dinars and kunas, for 100, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000 and 100,000 kunas/dinars. Notes for 100, 500 and 1000 liras were also issued without indication as to the value in kunas.