The Manat is the currency of Turkmenistan. It was introduced on November 1, 1993, replacing the Russian ruble at a rate of 1 manat = 500 ruble.The ISO 4217 code is TMM and the manat is subdivided into 100 tennesi. The abbreviation m is sometimes used, e.g., 25 000 m is twenty-five thousand manat.

On January 1, 2009 the new manat was introduced with ISO 4217 code TMT.

Etymology
The word "manat" is borrowed from the Russian word "монета" "moneta" meaning "coin". Likewise, 'manat' was the name of the Soviet ruble in both Azeri and Turkmen.

Coins
In 1993, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 tennesi. The 1, 5 and 10 tennesi were struck in copper-plated-steel, with the higher denominations in nickel-plated-steel. After a period of inflation, new coins of 500 and 1000 manat were introduced in 1999.

Banknotes
In 1993, notes were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 manat. These were followed by notes for 1000 manat in 1995 and 5000 and 10,000 manat in 1996. In 2005, a new series of notes was introduced in denominations of 50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000 and 10,000 manat. All notes bear a portrait of former president Saparmurat Niyazov.

Redenomination, the new manat
In October 2007 the Turkmen opposition news website Gundogar reported, citing sources at De La Rue, that on January 1, 2009 Turkmenistan plans to redenominate the manat at the rate of 5,000 to 1 due to inflation . Only the highest valued banknote, 500 manat, is planned to bear the portrait of Saparmurat Niyazov, while the others are supposed to have images of buildings in Ashgabat and portraits of Ahmed Sanjar, Oghuz Khan, Magtymguly Pyragy and other figures of Turkmen history.

Will be printed banknotes in denominations of:

* 1 manat = 5,000 old manat
* 5 manat = 25,000 old manat
* 10 manat = 50,000 old manat
* 20 manat = 100,000 old manat
* 50 manat = 250,000 old manat
* 100 manat = 500,000 old manat
* 500 manat = 2,500,000 old manat

Coins will be minted with the following denominations:

* 1 tenge = 50 old manat
* 2 tenge = 100 old manat
* 5 tenge = 250 old manat
* 10 tenge = 500 old manat
* 20 tenge = 1,000 old manat
* 50 tenge = 2,500 old manat

Black market exchange
The manat has a large disparity between its official and black market rates, with the latter being roughly 21% greater than the official. This results in few institutions outside Turkmen Governmental control supporting the official rate. A few multinational companies have continued to adhere to the official rate - such as British Airways - but generally only for purchases by Turkmen passport holders in the country itself.

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