SKK (Slovak Koruna)

What Is the SKK (Slovak Koruna)?

SKK is the currency abbreviation for the Slovak koruna (SKK), the currency for Slovakia from February 8, 1993, to December 31, 2008. The koruna was made up of 100 halierov and is often presented with the symbol Sk. It is also known as the "crown."

Understanding the SKK (Slovak Koruna)

When the Czechoslovak Federation split in two in 1993 to form two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Czechoslovak koruna also split, introducing two new currencies: the Czech koruna and the Slovak koruna. The SKK could be used for cash payment until January 16, 2009. 

On May 1, 2004, Slovakia was accepted as a member of the European Union, and the progression toward the conversion to the euro began. Almost immediately, it was possible to pay with euros in many shops in Slovakia. However, in many cases, a purchase using euros resulted in a less favorable exchange rate, and change was paid in Slovak korunas. 

Historical Exchange Rates for Slovakia

Národná banka Slovenska (NBS), the central bank of Slovakia, began publishing exchange rates on a daily basis on January 4 1993, the year SKK was established as a separate currency.

The NBS used direct quotation, and the value of the home currency was given against a set unit of a foreign currency. For example, the USD/SKK exchange rate showed how many Slovak korunas could be exchanged for one US dollar. In January 1996, NBS began to publish the exchange rates of selected currencies on a monthly basis, and in December 1998 the three-month and six-month forward rates of the Slovak koruna against the German mark (later the euro) and the U.S. dollar were published.

The Slovak koruna's fluctuation band and currency basket peg were abolished on October 2, 1998. A free floating exchange rate based on the currency's supply and demand was introduced for the Slovak koruna. On January 1, 2009, the euro became the reference currency for the SKK. December 31, 2008 was the last day that SKK exchange rates were published.

The History of the Slovak Koruna

The gold-backed koruna currency first appeared in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1892. It assisted the Empire's economic and financial integration with industrially advanced Europe. The Czechoslovak koruna (Kč) was the currency from 1918 to 1939 when it was replaced by the Slovak koruna (Ks). After the end of World War II, in 1945, the country returned to the Czechoslovak koruna (Kčs) and retained it until 1993. From then until the end of 2008, the country‘s currency was the modern Slovak koruna (Sk).

The Slovak koruna denominations were the 10 Sk, 5 Sk, 2 Sk, 1 Sk, 50 hal, 20 hal, and 10 hal coins; and the 5000 Sk, 1000 Sk, 500 Sk, 200 Sk, 100 Sk, 50 Sk, and 20 Sk banknotes.