Banka Slovenije issued payment notes for 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 tolars into circulation as temporary currency on 8 October 1991, followed by a payment note for 5,000 tolars on 27 May 1992. They had an image of Mt Triglav on the front, and images of a bee on honeycomb and the Prince’s Stone on the reverse. The payment notes can be exchanged at Banka Slovenije in perpetuity.

Slovenia’s currency between 8 October 1991 and 31 December 2006 was the tolar, which was divided into 100 stotins. In monetary transactions the ISO currency code SIT was used to refer to the tolar.

Banka Slovenije issued the payment notes into circulation on 8 October 1991 as a temporary currency, before issuing and circulating the first banknotes (100-tolar, 500-tolar and 1,000-tolar) on 30 September 1992, followed by 1-, 2- and 5-tolar and 50-stotin coins on 4 January 1993.

Banka Slovenije also designed and issued commemorative items to mark major decisions and events. Similarly to the practice for euro coins, Slovenia issued commemorative coins to mark political, historical, scientific, cultural, sporting, humanitarian and other similar events of general importance to Slovenia or with wider international significance.

The tolar banknotes featured designs by Miljenko Licul and Zvone Kosovelj, with portraits by the artist Rudi Španzel. The tolar banknotes were issued by Banka Slovenije, with the first banknotes printed by Thomas de la Rue, an English firm, on paper of Slovenian origin produced by Papirnica Radeče.

Banknotes of the following denominations entered into circulation:

• 10-tolar (issue date: 15 January 1992)

• 20-tolar (issue date: 15 January 1992)

• 50-tolar (issue date: 15 January 1992)

• 100-tolar (issue dates: 15 January 1992, 15 January 2003)

• 200-tolar (issue dates: 15 January 1992, 8 October 1997, 15 January 2001, 15 January 2004)

• 500-tolar (issue dates: 15 January 1992, 15 January 2001, 15 January 2005)

• 1,000-tolar (issue dates: 15 January 1992, 1 June 1993, 15 January 2000, 15 January 2003, 15 January 2004, 15 January 2005)

• 5,000-tolar (issue dates: 1 January 1993, 8 October 1997, 15 January 2000, 15 January 2002, 15 January 2004)

• 10,000-tolar (issue dates: 28 June 1994, 15 January 2000, 15 January 2003, 15 January 2004)

Banknote security features

All tolar banknotes were printed on high-quality white security paper made from cotton fibres and manufactured by Papirnica Radeče. All the banknotes other than the 10,000-tolar had a watermark with the same image and a security thread with a microtext, while the 10,000-tolar note had two watermarks (one only visible under UV light).

There were two signatories on each banknote: the Governor of Banka Slovenije and another member of the Governing Board, with the signatories being determined by the drawing of lots. An intaglio print technique was used to achieve maximum security against counterfeiting. Another security feature was the see-through registers, which were a sketch of the theatre with the letters I and C (10,000-tolar), an artist’s palette (5,000-tolar), a circular motif (1,000-tolar), a combination of triangles (500-tolar), a white circle with three note inscriptions (200-tolar), a segment of a circle (100-tolar), four phases of the moon (50-tolar), an outline of Slovenia in a circle (20-tolar) and a PT monogram (10-tolar). Microprinting was also used as a security feature on all the denominations other than the 10,000-tolar note, and consisted of the name of Banka Slovenije, the banknote face value and the currency abbreviation (SLT or SIT). The 1,000- and 100-tolar banknotes also featured a latent image, while all denominations had embossing for the blind, and inscriptions on both sides that were only visible under UV light.

The first series of banknotes bore the date of 15 January 1992, i.e. the day when the Slovenian state was first recognised by a number of countries in Europe and around the world.

Example of security features on the 5,000-tolar banknote

These security features were designed to allow fake banknotes to be quickly identified by all, and not just by professional cash handlers with access to technical equipment.

Security features

The most important thing is to simply observe those security features on the banknote that can be identified with certainty. When you are handed a banknote, pay attention to the following features:

• The paper on which genuine banknotes are printed (slightly rough, special thickness, crispness and elasticity, resistant to moisture, curling and folding) has a relatively high level of dimensional stability. The paper of fakes is usually smooth, of a different thickness, and less resilient. Counterfeiters try to conceal counterfeiting errors by wetting, tearing, curling, folding and washing their banknotes to make them look and feel more like the average banknote in circulation. The recommendation is to look out for a metallic sound when testing the elasticity of the banknote.

• The security thread seen when the banknote is held up to the light can be felt as a thicker strip, and can even be extracted. There is a Banka Slovenije inscription on the thread. The security thread is drawn in on fakes, and cannot be felt.

• The watermark is visible when the banknote is held up to the light, and bears the same image as those found on the right hand side of the banknote. The exception is the 10,000-tolar note, whose watermark has an image of Ivan Cankar. Fakes usually have no watermark and an empty space instead, or have a fake watermark printed in invisible ink, and differ significantly from genuine banknotes.

• The hand engraved images of the people on genuine banknotes are clear and sharp, and stand out visibly from the background. Fakes differ in colour from genuine banknotes, often with unclear, foggier images, and blend into the background, although not always in good fakes.

• Type of printing: various printing techniques are used on individual parts of the banknote. Parts of genuine banknotes feature intaglio printing that can be felt with the finger, while fakes are smoother. The more worn a banknote is, the harder it is to check and the less reliable the checking becomes.

• The numbering on the reverse of the banknote: each banknote has two alphanumeric designations (two letters and six numbers, or seven on the 10,000-tolar), which must be the same. One is aligned horizontally on the left half of the banknote (in red), while the other is printed vertically on the white space on the right side of the banknote (in black). Fakes usually have numbers or letters of incorrect size, the spaces between the letters and numbers differ, etc. Every banknote has a unique serial number: if two are the same, one is a fake.

• Experts can also identify latent images, see-through registers, etc.

The issuance of tolar coins was commissioned by the Slovenian state, which set out the denominations and their main features. Banka Slovenije decided on the dates for issuing the coins into circulation, and took charge of the technical tasks in connection with issuance.

Like the banknotes, the coins were designed by Miljenko Licul and Zvone Kosovelj, while the animal figures were modelled by sculptor Janez Boljka.

Banka Slovenije issued coins of the following denominations into circulation:

• 10-stotin (entered circulation on 29 April 1993)

• 20-stotin (entered circulation on 29 April 1993)

• 50-stotin (entered circulation on 4 January 1993)

• 1-tolar (entered circulation on 4 January 1993)

• 2-tolar (entered circulation on 4 January 1993)

• 5-tolar (entered circulation on 4 January 1993)

• 10-tolar (entered circulation on 19 April 2000)

• 20-tolar (entered circulation on 7 July 2003)

• 50-tolar (entered circulation on 7 July 2003)

Tolar coins were exchangeable at Banka Slovenije until 3 January 2017, and since that date have solely had value as collectibles.