BENDUQI |
DIRHAM |
When most of Morocco became a French protectorate in 1912 it switched to the Moroccan franc. The dirham was reintroduced on 16 October 1960. It replaced the franc as the major unit of currency but, until 1974, the franc continued to circulate, with 1 dirham = 100 francs. In 1974, the santim replaced the franc.
In 1960, silver 1 Dirham Coins were introduced. These were followed by nickel 1 dirham and silver 5 dirham coins in 1965. In 1974, with the introduction of the santim, a new coinage was introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 santimat and 1 dirham.
The 1 santim coins were aluminium, the 5 up to 20 santimat were minted in brass, with the highest two denominations in cupro-nickel. Cupro-nickel 5 dirham coins were added in 1980 and changed to a bi-metal coin in 1987.