Mongolian tugrug

The tugrug ("төгрөг" in Mongolian) (MNT, Tugrik, ₮) is the official currency of Mongolia. It was historically subdivided into 100 mongo (мөнгө).

The tugrug was introduced in 1925 at a value equal to one Soviet ruble, where one ruble or tugrug was equal to 18 grams of silver. It replaced the Mongolian dollar.

Mongolian coins are not in circulation as currency any longer, as their value is fractions of one Tugric. They are sold to tourists and as novelties and collectibles now, available in tourist shops in Ulaanbaatar.

Coins

Structures of the coins of Mongolian tugrug had a striking resemblance to the Soviet ruble. Soviet ruble coins were consistently 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20. 50 kopeks, and 1 ruble, while the tugrug were 1, 2, 5, 10,15, 20, 50 mongo, and 1 tugrug, with only 3 mongo missing. This similarity stopped when the People's Republic of Mongolia came to an end in 1990 and inflation surged.

Coin Series during the People's Republic of Mongolia era ^*
Images	Series	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	Date recalled	Valueless since	Script	Minted in	Calendar used
^*	1925	1-5 mongo: copper 10-20 mongo: 0.5 silver 50 mongo, 1 tugrug: 90% silver	Soyombo	Value	1950	1970	Mongolian	Soviet Union	Mongolian Year 15
^*	1937	1-5 mongo: aluminium bronze 10-20 mongo: cupronickel	Soyombo		1960	1970	Mongolian		Mongolian Year 27
^*	1945	1-5 mongo: aluminium bronze 10-20 mongo: cupronickel	coat of arms, "Бугд Найрамдах Монгол Ард Улс" (People's Republic of Mongolia)		1970	1970	Cyrillic		Mongolian Year 35
^*	1959	Aluminium			1990	1990		P.R. China	Common Era
[http://www.mongolbank.mn/images/Coins1/oldcoins5.jpg	1970, 77, 80, 81	1-5 mongo: aluminium 10-50 mongo: cupronickel	coat of arms, state title in short (БНМАУ) for 1-5 mongo, in full for 10-50 mongo		—	—		1970, 77: East Germany 1980, 81: Mongolia	Common Era
^*	Circulating & commemorative 1 tugrug	1971: aluminium bronze, cupronickel, silver, or gold 1981: aluminium bronze	coat of arms, full state title, value	"БНМАУ", man on horse, "50 ЖИЛ" or "60 ЖИЛ" depending on the year	?	?		?	—

Current Coins ^*
Image		Value	Diameter	Thickness	Weight	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	First Minted Year
	[http://www.mongolbank.mn/images/Currcoin/coin20b.gif	20 tugrug	17.5 mm	1.5 mm	0.78 g	Aluminium	Milled	Value	Soyombo	1994
	[http://www.mongolbank.mn/images/Currcoin/coin50b.gif	50 tugrug	23 mm	1.8 mm	16.8 g	Aluminium		Value
	[http://www.mongolbank.mn/images/Currcoin/coin100b.gif	100 tugrug	22 mm	1.5 mm	3.84 g	Cupronickel		Value, Janraiseg Temple
	[http://www.mongolbank.mn/images/Currcoin/coin200b.gif	200 tugrug	25 mm	1.7 mm	6.2 g			Value, the Government House
	[http://www.mongolbank.mn/images/Currcoin/coin500b.gif	500 tugrug	22 mm	1.7 mm	?		Plain	Value, Soyombo	Damdin Sühbaatar	2001

Banknotes

Like coins the tugrug banknotes were very similar to the Soviet ruble during the People's Republic of Mongolia era. The similarities included color theme, overall design, and the lineup of the denominations, which were 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 tugrug unless stated otherwise. The color for each value is

1 tugrug: brown
3 tugrug: green
5 tugrug: blue
10 tugrug: red
25 tugrug: lilac
50 tugrug: green
100 tugrug: brown

They were all printed in the Soviet Union.

Banknote Series during the People's Republic of Mongolia era ^*
Image	Series	Obverse	Reverse	Date recalled	Valueless since	Script	Calendar used	Note
^*	1925	Soyombo, value	Value	1940	1966	Mongolian	Common Era	2 tugrug in green instead of 3 tugrug
^*	1939	Soyombo, Sühbaatar	Value	1955	1966	Mongolian	Common Era and Mongolian Year 29	25 tugrug in brown
—	1941	Coat of arms, Sühbaatar		?	?	Both	Common Era and Mongolian Year 31	25 tugrug in brown
^*	1955	Coat of arms, Sühbaatar		1966	1966	Cyrillic	Common Era	25 tugrug in blue on obverse, brown on reverse
^*	1966	Coat of arms, Sühbaatar except 1 tugrug	Value for 1-25 tugrug, the Government House for 50 and 100 tugrug	—	—	Both
^*	1981, 83	Coat of arms, Sühbaatar except 1 tugrug	As above, except industrial theme for 20 tugrug	—	—	Both		20 tugrug in green instead of 25 tugrug

1993 Series ^*
Image¹		Value	Dimensions	Color	Obverse	Reverse	Issued Date²	Watermark	Usage
—	—	10 mongo	45 x 90 mm	Pink	Soyombo, Archery	Archery	1993	—	Very rare in circulation. Abundant among collectors.
—	—	20 mongo	45 x 90 mm	Yellow-brown	Soyombo, Wrestling	Wrestling
—	—	50 mongo	45 x 90 mm	Green-cyan	Soyombo, Horse riding	Horse riding
	[http://www.mongolbank.mn/images/Bills/m1b.jpg	1 tugrug	115 x 57 mm	Yellow-brown	Lion	Soyombo		Genghis Khan
	[http://www.mongolbank.mn/images/Bills/m5b.jpg	5 tugrug	120 x 60 mm	Orange	Sühbaatar, Soyombo	Mountainous landscape and horses eating grass			Rarely used anywhere but in banks
	[http://www.mongolbank.mn/images/Bills/m10b.jpg	10 tugrug	125 x 61 mm	Green			1993, 2002³		The smallest commonly used note
	[http://www.mongolbank.mn/images/Bills/m20b.jpg	20 tugrug	130 x 65 mm	Reddish purple			1993, 2002³
	[http://www.mongolbank.mn/images/Bills/m50b.jpg	50 tugrug	135 x 66 mm	Brown			1993, 2000³
	[http://www.mongolbank.mn/images/Bills/m100b.jpg	100 tugrug	140 x 68 mm	Violet			1993, 2000³
	[http://www.mongolbank.mn/images/Bills/m500b.jpg	500 tugrug	145 x 70 mm	Violet	Genghis Khan, Soyombo	Mongolian yurts in motion	1993, 1997 2000³, 2003⁴
	[http://www.mongolbank.mn/images/Bills/m1000b.jpg	1000 tugrug	150 x 72 mm	Blue		Mongolian yurts in motion	1993, 1997 2003⁴
	[http://www.mongolbank.mn/images/Bills/m5000b.jpg	5000 tugrug	150 x 72 mm	Violet		Traditional buildings	1994, 2003⁴
	[http://www.mongolbank.mn/images/Bills/m10000b.jpg	10,000 tugrug	150 x 72 mm	Orange		Traditional buildings	1995, 2002⁴

Note

Images shown are the earliest variations of each value
Issued dates are listed for up to 2003. It is known that there is a 2005 edition of 10 tugrug, but it is yet unclear whether or not it was the only value for the 2005 edition.
Lower value notes (10 ~ 500 tugrug) issued in 2000 and after have line-patterned color underprint on the entire note, where the previos edition had near-white solid color. But one exception to the rule is the 2000 edition of 500 tugrug.
High value notes (500 ~ 10,000 tugrug) issued in 2002 and after have a patch on the lower right hand side of obverse as an improved anti-counterfeit device, which was previously only available on the two highest values. The new patch is also more sophisticated than the ones in the 1990s. The two highest values also have their Soyombo symbol upgraded to a hologram.

Purchasing Power

5 tugrug: a piece of candy is used to make change of 5Tg
10 tugrug: a couple pieces of candy
100 tugrug: a ride across town on a bus in Ulaanbaatar
500 tugrug: a meal at a guanz, or small cafe that sells buuz--which are steamed meat dumplings
10,000 tugrug a lodging at a tourist hostel in Ulaanbaatar

External links

Images of banknotes

Currency signs | Circulating currencies

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Coins

Banknotes

Note

Purchasing Power

See also

External links