The kuna was the currency of the Independent State of Croatia in the period between 1941 and 1945 during World War II. The word "kuna" means "marten" in Croatian and the same word is used for the current Croatian kuna currency. This kuna was subdivided into 100 banica. It was preceded and replaced by the Yugoslav dinar.
The Croatian kuna was introduced in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) on 26 July 1941. The kuna replaced the Yugoslav dinar at par and was fixed to the German Reichsmark (RM).
The kuna was withdrawn from circulation from 30 June to 9 July, 1945 and replaced by the 1944 issue of the Yugoslav dinar at a rate of 40 kuna = 1 dinar.
Obverse: Hexagonal receptacle
Reverse: Croatian couple on the reverse
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 Hrvatska Državna Banka (Croatian State Bank) introduced 100, 1000 and 5000 kuna notes. The notes were printed in Germany by Giesecke & Devrient.
