1500 Novih Dinara Chilandar

Yugoslavia issued this piece in 1999 while simultaneously enduring NATO airstrikes — the 78-day bombing campaign that began in March of that year targeted infrastructure across Serbia and effectively paralyzed normal economic activity. The dinar itself was in freefall, and the National Bank was producing commemorative gold issues even as the federal state was disintegrating around it.

The Chilandar monastery on Mount Athos was founded by the Serbian grand župan Stefan Nemanja and his son Rastko in 1198, making it one of the oldest continuously functioning Serbian religious institutions. It remains under Serbian Orthodox administration within the autonomous monastic community of Athos to this day.