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By the mid fourth-century BC, coins were issued primarily on the islands of Pharos, the island of Issa and in the kingdom of Paeonia. Paeonian and Celtic coins (in Croatia) were succeeded by Roman coins following the annexation of Macedonia in the second century BC, though initially these coins were minted in Rome. After the fall of Rome, Byzantine coins were predominant until the twelfth century when Freisach pfennigs and Venetian denarii began to circulate. In the 1260s, the kings of Serbia began issuing imitations of Venetian grossi.

Serbia fell under Ottoman rule in 1459. Slavonia and northern Yugoslavia remained mostly under Hungarian rule, while Montenegro remained independent. Venice remained an important influence in Dalmatia until 1797 where Venetian coinage made up most of the currency. Ragusa survived as a republic under Turkish protection from 1526 until 1806 using a monetary system similar to that of Venice with 1 ducat equal to 40 grossetti and 240 soldi.

Historically, western Croatia was a separate kingdom from eastern Croatia (Slavonia). Western Croatia was united in Dynastic Union with Hungary beginning in 1102, with the Hapsburgs having rule over the lands from 1526 on. Croatia was part of France's Illyrian provinces during the Napoleonic years, and in 1813 the French were expelled and Hapsburg rule over Croatia was restored. With the Austro-Hungarian Ausgleich of 1867, Hungary gained greater autonomy and control over Croatia. During the 1800s, although eastern Croatia (Slavonia) was part of the Ottoman Empire, western Croatia, with its capital in Zagreb, was part of Austro-Hungarian Empire. Croatia gained its independence on October 29, 1918 as part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which was renamed Yugoslavia on October 3, 1929. Under the Cvetkovic-Macek agreement of August 26, 1939, Hrvatska province (Croatia) was formed by merging Primorska and Savska provinces, plus kotari (districts) taken from other provinces: Brcko, Derventa, Dubrovnik, Fojnica, Gradacac, Ilok, Sid, and Travnik.

After invasion by Italy and Germany, the "Independent" State of Croatia was formed on April 10, 1941. Croatia was reincorporated into Yugoslavia in April 1945 when it was liberated from the Nazis. It remained part of Yugoslavia until October 8, 1991 when it gained its independence from Yugoslavia. The breakaway republic of Serbian Krajina remained independent until August 7, 1995 when it was reincorporated into Croatia. See Fiume for a separate history.

The Ottoman Empire Piastre (XOTP) circulated in Croatia while it was part of the Ottoman Empire, and Austrian Kronen (ATK), divisible into 100 Heller, circulated when Croatia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Initially, the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes introduced their own Kronen (YUK), divisible into 100 Para, which were quickly replaced with Dinar (YUS) at the rate of 1 Dinar to 4 Kronen. After occupation by Germany and Italy, Croatia was separated from Serbia and included both present-day Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Croatia issued its own currency, the Croatian Kuna (HRD), divisible into 100 Banica. German Reichkreditkassenschein (XDEK) also circulated.

In April 1945, Yugoslavia was liberated, and the Yugoslav Federation Dinar was introduced with official rates of exchange set at 1 Yugoslav Federation Dinar (YUF) equal to 40 Croatian Kuna or 20 Serbian Dinars, and 50 YUF equal to 1 US Dollar. Because of persistent inflation, a Hard Dinar (YUD) was introduced on January 1, 1966 with 1 Hard Dinar equal to 100 Yugoslav Dinar. A New Dinar was introduced on January 1, 1990 with 1 Convertible Dinar equal to 10,000 Hard Dinars.

Banknotes were issued by the Ministry of Finance from 1919 until 1920, by the National Bank of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from 1920 until 1929, by the National Bank of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929 until April 1941, by the Independent State of Croatia from 1941 until 1943, by the Croatian National Bank from May 1941 until October 1944, by Democratic Federation of Yugoslavia from 1944 until 1946, by the National Bank of Yugoslavia from January 1946 until 1995.

After Croatia gained its independence in 1991, the Central Bank issued the Croatian (Hrvatska) Dinar (HRD) at par with the Yugoslav New Dinar, but it was meant to be a temporary currency. The Kuna (HRK), divisible into 100 Lipas, replaced by the Dinar on May 30, 1994. The Dinar notes were issued by the Republic of Croatia, and the Kuna banknotes have been issued by the National Bank of Croatia.

While Krajina Serbia remained independent of the rest of Croatia, it issued its own currency at par with the Yugoslav Dinar. Consequently, it suffered much higher inflation than the rest of Croatia. The first Krajina Reformed Dinar (HRKR) notes were issued parallel with the Reformed Dinar (YUR), first issued in Yugoslavia in July 1992. This issue was followed by the October Dinar (HRKO), first issued on October 1, 1993 and equal to 1,000,000 Reformed Dinar, and the 1994 Dinar, first issued on January 1, 1994 and equal to 1,000,000,000 October Dinar. Banknotes were issued by the Serbian Republic-Krajina in 1991 and 1992, and by the National Bank of the Serbian Republic-Krajina from 1992 until 1994.

Ragusa was an independent state until the 12th Century. From 1205 to 1368, it recognized Ventian suzerainty, and from 1358 until 1526 it was a vassal state of Hungary. After the fall of Hungary in 1526, Ragusa regained its sovereignty. Ragusa was seized by the French in 1805 and was annexed by Austria in 1814. It was incorporated into Yugoslavia in 1918 when its name was changed to Dubrovnik. Ragusa issued its own coins based upon the Perpero (HRRP) between 1626 and 1803.

This is a 1 Dinar note, dated 1991. This note is dull orange-brown on multicolored underprint. The obverse of this note shows Roger Joseph Boscovich in the center with some geometric calculations in the upper right corner. Roger Boscovich, or Ruđer Bošković, was a physicist, astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, diplomat, poet, and Jesuit from Ragusa (today Dubrovnik, in Croatia). The reverse shows the Zagreb cathedral with an artistic rendering of city buildings behind the cathedral. This note has a serial 4.5mm in length, ans has Lozenges for a watermark.

• Krause# Pick-16a

Here is a 5 Dinara note dated 1991. This note is similar in design with P-16a, only it has a 4mm serial. This note is pale purple on multicolored underprint.

• Krause# Pick-17a

This is a 10 Dinara note dated 1991. This note is also similar in design with P-16a. This note has a 4.5mm serial, and is a pale red-brown on multcicolored underprint.

• Krause# Pick-18a

Here is a 25 Dinara note dated 1991. This note is similar in design to P-16a. This note has a 2.8mm serial, and is dull purple on multicolored underprint. The paper used in production of this note was originally prepared for the Sweden 5 Kroner (Sweden P-51). Because of this, the watermark for this note are 5's in crossed wavy lines.

• Krause# Pick-19a

This is a 100 Dinara note dated 1991. This note is similar in design to P-16a. It is pale green on a multicolored underprint. This note does not have a watermark.

• Krause# Pick-20a

Here is a 50,000 Dinara note dated 1993. This note is deep red on multicolored underprint. The obverse of this note is similar in design to P-16a. The reverse of the note depicts a statue of seated Glagolica, or Mother Croatia in the center. This note has a watermark of a baptismal font.

• Krause# Pick-26a

This is a 100,000 Dinara note dated 1993. The obverse of this note is similar in design to P-16a and the reverse of this note is similar in design to P-26a. This note is dark blue-green on multicolored underprint.

• Krause# Pick-27a

NATIONAL BANK OF THE SERBIAN REPUBLIC - KRAJINA

"Narodna Banka Republike Srpske Krajine"

This is a 100 Million Dinara issued in 1993. This note is pale blue-gray on light blue and gray underprint. This note shows the Serbian coat of arms to the left, the denomination in a heart shaped design below a guilloche in the center on the obverse. The reverse shows a curved artistic design on the left, and the Serbian coat of arms to the right. The watermark on the note is a repeating greek design.

• Krause# Pick-R15a