The São Tomé and Príncipe dobra
Currency · STN · Db · 1 country
On 1 January 2018 the Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe swapped 1,000 old dobras for each new one, and the ISO code moved from STD to STN. Since 1 January 2010 the dobra has been tied to the euro under a deal with Portugal, which puts one euro at 24.5 new dobras. The first dobra replaced the escudo in 1977.
The abbreviation
Db abbreviates dobra, and the new dobra of 2018 is also written nDb to keep it apart from the old. The name is Portuguese for a doubloon, and the first dobra replaced the escudo in 1977.
- ISO code
- STN
- ISO number
- 930
- Subunit
- cêntimo, 1/100
An amount, written out
Db 1,234.50
- Db 1,234.50English
- 1234,50 DbPortugueseSão Tomé and Príncipe
In English the sign comes before the amount. Where the São Tomé & Príncipe dobra is used, it comes after the amount in São Tomé and Príncipe.
Where the São Tomé & Príncipe dobra is the official currency
São Tomé and Príncipe uses it on its own, tied to the euro under a 2009 loan agreement with Portugal like the one Portugal signed with Cape Verde.
About the São Tomé & Príncipe dobra
Why the dobra is tied to the euro
In July 2009 São Tomé and Príncipe signed a loan agreement with Portugal, the former colonial power, meant to link the dobra to the euro. Portugal committed up to 25 million euros, and the European Commission endorsed the arrangement. The two sides had spent a year negotiating it. It took effect in January 2010, when the rate was fixed at 24,500 of the old dobras to the euro. Portugal had signed a similar agreement with Cape Verde ten years earlier.
The redenomination of 2018 carried the peg over unchanged. Dividing by 1,000 turned 24,500 into 24.5.
How the old dobra lost its zeros
The dobra replaced the escudo at par in 1977, and the Banco Nacional de São Tomé e Príncipe issued the first notes on 30 September that year, from 50 to 1,000 dobras. Inflation pushed the range upward. Notes of 5,000 to 50,000 dobras arrived in 1996, and the notes at the bottom of the old range became coins the year after. A 100,000 dobra note followed in December 2008.
The central bank announced the cut on 25 August 2017, marking its own twenty-fifth anniversary. From 1 January 2018 six new notes and five new coins went into circulation. Old and new notes were both legal until 30 June 2018. After that the old ones could be exchanged or deposited at commercial banks until 31 December 2018, and at the central bank for one more year, to 31 December 2019.
What the notes and coins show
The first dobra's notes carried a portrait of Rei Amador, with one exception: the 100,000 note showed Francisco José Tenreiro. The new series put butterflies on the front of every note and the islands' wildlife on the back.
The 5 and 10 dobra notes of 2018 were printed on polymer, and it did not suit the tropical climate. The first 200 dobra note had its own fault, poor paper. De La Rue designed and printed replacements on paper for all three, and they entered circulation on 26 August 2021 beside the notes they replaced.
The coins of the new dobra run from 10 cêntimos to 2 dobras. The first dobra's coins carried the national coat of arms and the motto "Aumentemos a Produção" with the value on the reverse. The 1977 coins, struck in brass and cupro-nickel with farm produce, plants and animals, were never demonetised, but chronic inflation took them out of daily use.
Common questions
Questions about the São Tomé & Príncipe dobra
Is the dobra pegged to the euro?
Yes. Under a loan agreement signed with Portugal in July 2009, the dobra was fixed at 24,500 old dobras to one euro from 1 January 2010. The redenomination of 2018 divided that by 1,000, so the peg now reads 24.5 new dobras to the euro. Portugal had made a similar arrangement with Cape Verde a decade before.
What is the difference between STD and STN?
STD was the ISO code of the first dobra, in use from 1977. STN is the code of the new dobra, which the Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe issued on 1 January 2018 at one new dobra for 1,000 old ones. The bank had announced the change on 25 August 2017, for its twenty-fifth anniversary. The two circulated together until 30 June 2018. Old notes could then be exchanged at commercial banks until the end of 2018 and at the central bank until 31 December 2019, after which only STN remained.
Why did São Tomé and Príncipe drop its polymer banknotes?
The 5 and 10 dobra notes of 2018 were printed on polymer, which proved unsuitable for the islands' tropical environment. The central bank replaced them with paper notes printed by De La Rue, which went into circulation on 26 August 2021 together with a new 200 dobra note.
What does the word dobra mean?
Dobra is Portuguese for doubloon. The name came in with the currency in 1977, when the dobra replaced the escudo at par. Amounts are written with the abbreviation Db, and since the redenomination of 2018 the new dobra is also written nDb. Each dobra divides into 100 cêntimos.