Topčider Institute for Manufacturing Banknotes and Coins – European-style printing works

Since its foundation, the Bank was printing banknotes and minting coins abroad. Apart from the first banknote, produced with the help of the National Bank of Belgium, the National Bank of the Kingdom of Serbia began cooperation with Banque de France. It was only in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes that the ideas of having a domestic manufacturing facility emerged, primarily as a reflection of state and financial independence.

The decision to start the construction of the Institute for Manufacturing Banknotes was made at the Governor’s Council in 1925, during the governorship of Georg Weifert.

In March 1927, by the decision of the Ministerial Council, the Bank was leased land in Topčider, and the construction of the Institute began in September 1927. On the proposal of Banque de France, Josif Najman was engaged as the chief architect. In record time, by the end of October 1929, the building was completed and the Institute for Manufacturing Banknotes of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began to operate in December of the same year. Given that the Institute was a specific institution within the Bank that dealt with activities not regulated by concrete rules and procedures, in late 1930 a decree was passed stipulating in detail all stages in the organisation of its work. The Institute’s imposing building was used not only for printing the domestic currency, but also as a representative facility visited by many domestic and foreign officials, and delegations.

The mint, as part of the Institute, was built in 1937, and the production of coins began in 1938.

Today, keeping abreast with state-of-the-art technological achievements, in addition to the manufacturing of banknotes and coins issued by the NBS, the Institute also produces banknotes and coins for foreign countries, public documents, value and secured papers, bank and other cards and other products of the highest quality. Cutting-edge security features are applied and process safety is ensured in all phases.

Manufacturing at the Institute has never stopped – not even during the Second World War and the NATO bombing.