Why are old currency codes still listed by ISO 4217?

ISO 4217 keeps withdrawn codes on a reserved list so historic transactions, archives and ledgers remain unambiguous. The code is retired from active use but never silently reassigned to a different currency.

What replaced the Deutsche Mark and French Franc?

Both were replaced by the euro (EUR) when euro banknotes and coins entered circulation on 1 January 2002. Their DEM and FRF codes were withdrawn at that point but remain valid for historic reference.

When did Croatia switch to the euro?

Croatia adopted the euro on 1 January 2023, withdrawing the kuna (HRK). It is the most recent eurozone accession and the newest code on this list.

What is the ECU code XEU?

XEU was the European Currency Unit, a basket-based accounting unit used by the EU before the euro. It was replaced one-for-one by the euro (EUR) on 1 January 1999 when the euro became the official accounting currency.

Does this tool connect to the internet?

No. The full table is bundled with the page and all searching happens in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, logged or stored.

Historic Currency Code Reference

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Currency codes that are no longer in use

When a country adopts a new currency or joins the euro, its old ISO 4217 code is withdrawn from active circulation. This reference lists those retired alphabetic and numeric codes alongside the entity, the year the code left circulation, and the currency that replaced it — from the wave of legacy currencies absorbed by the euro to redenominations like the old and new Turkish lira.

How it works

ISO 4217 assigns every active currency a three-letter alphabetic code (the first two letters usually match the country’s ISO 3166 code, the third names the currency) and a three-digit numeric code. When a currency ceases circulation, the standard moves its codes to a list of withdrawn codes:

DEM  276  German Mark      withdrawn 2002  ->  EUR
TRL  792  Turkish Lira old withdrawn 2005  ->  TRY
HRK  191  Croatian Kuna    withdrawn 2023  ->  EUR

The retired code is reserved rather than reused, so a value labelled DEM in an old record can never be confused with a present-day currency. The table is searchable by code, currency name, country or the successor currency code.

Tips and notes

Euro adoption is staggered: the original twelve members switched in 2002, then Slovenia (2007), Cyprus and Malta (2008), and onward to Croatia (2023).
A redenomination (old to new lira, leu, dinar) gets a brand-new code, not a revived old one.
Numeric codes are useful when systems must stay language-neutral or when the alphabetic code has been reassigned across redenominations.
For currently active codes, see the live ISO 4217 currency reference.