The Solomon Islands dollar (ISO 4217 code: SBD) is the currency of Solomon Islands since 1977. Its symbol is $, with SI$ used to differentiate it from other currencies also using the dollar sign. It is subdivided into 100 cents. Exchange rate History Prior to the Solomon Islands Dollar, Solomon Islands used the Australian pound. However, the Solomon Islands had also issued its own banknotes, sometimes called the Solomon Islands pound. When the Solomon Islands fell under the control of Imperial Japan during the Second World War, the Oceanian pound, a so-called "Japanese Invasion Currency", became the official currency until after the war ended and the Pound was restored. In 1966 the Australian dollar replaced the pound and was circulated in the Solomon Islands until 1976, shortly before independence. The Solomon Islands dollar was introduced in 1977, replacing the Australian dollar at par, following independence. Until 1979, the two dollars remained equal, then for five months the SI$ was pegged at SI$1 = (apparently revalued to reduce imported inflation), and later floated. Economic stagnation ensued, so over the next 28 years, and especially during the civil war of 2000–2003, inflationary pressure reduced the Solomon Islands dollar to be worth 15 Australian cents. In 2008, due to the low valuation in the currency, many Islanders took to hoarding coins and giving them to children as souvenirs, causing a coin shortage. Some more traditional monetary forms, such as dolphin teeth, have in a few areas taken the place of coins. A public awareness campaign was launched to encourage people to cash in excess coins at the bank to help alleviate the shortfall. Coins In 1977, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 cents and 1 dollar. The cent coins were all the same sizes, weights, and compositions as the corresponding Australian coins, with the 1 dollar an equilaterally curved seven-sided coin minted in cupro-nickel. The reverse of each of the six original coins depicts the image of an item or symbol important to native culture, with the most notable being the 10 cent piece depicting Ngoreru, a local sea god from the Temoto region. In 1985 bronze-plated steel replaced bronze in the 1 and 2 cents, with nickel-clad steel replacing cupro-nickel in the 20 cents in 1989, and the 5 and 10 cents in 1990. 1988 saw the introduction of 50 cent coins, which were dodecagonal (twelve-sided)