The tögrög or tugrik is the official currency of Mongolia. It was historically subdivided into 100 möngö. Currently, the lowest denomination in regular use is the 10-tögrög note and the highest is the 20,000-tögrög note. In unicode, the currency sign is. In 2010, the tögrög rose 15% against the dollar, due to the growth of the mining industry in Mongolia. However, its exchange rate eroded by 24% from early 2013 to June 2014 due to falling foreign investment and mining revenue.
Etymology
The word tögrög refers to "circle", or a "circular object". Today, it is rarely used outside of referring to the currency, with the exception of the phrase tögrög sar, meaning "full moon".
History
The tögrög was introduced on December 9, 1925 at a value equal to one Soviet ruble, where one ruble or tögrög was equal to of silver. It replaced the Mongolian dollar and other currencies and became the sole legal currency on April 1, 1928. Möngö coins are no longer in circulation as currency, owing to their negligible value. Today, they are sold online and to tourists as collectibles.
Coins
During socialism, the tögrög coin denominations were 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 50 möngö, and 1 tögrög. After the Mongolian People's Republic came to an end in 1992 and inflation surged, möngö coins were abandoned and larger tögrög values introduced.
Banknotes
Like coins, the tögrög banknotes were very similar to the Soviet ruble during the Mongolian People's Republic era. The similarities included color theme, overall design, and the lineup of the denominations, which were 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 tögrög unless stated otherwise. The color for each value is
1 tögrög: brown
3 tögrög: green
5 tögrög: blue
10 tögrög: green
20 tögrög: red
25 tögrög: lilac
50 tögrög: green
100 tögrög: brown
Formerly, all banknotes were printed in the Soviet Union. Modern tögrög banknotes are generally printed in the United Kingdom.
Remarks
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 tögrög, but it is yet unclear whether or not it was the only value for the 2005 edition.
Lower value notes issued in 2000 and after have line-patterned color underprint on the entire note, where the previous edition had near-white solid color. But one exception to the rule is the 2000 edition of 500 tögrög.
High value notes issued in 2002 and after have a patch on the lower right hand side of obverse as an improved anti-counterfeit device, which used to be printed only on the two highest values. The new patch is also more sophisticated than the ones in the 1990s. The Soyombo symbol was upgraded to a hologram on the two highest values. On series 2018 5000 tögrög, the hologram was changed to an OVMI ink.
Chinese equivalent
In China, there is a homonymic currency called tügürig, the Mongol name for the Renminbi, which is also divided into 100 mönggü.
