Jordan Guide
Money
Currency
The Jordanian unit of currency is the dinar, abbreviated to JD. Most people refer to the dinar as a "jaydee" or a "lira". There are two subdivisions: one dinar comprises either 1000 fils or 100 piastres (qirsh). Locals always think in piastres; they only refer to fils when talking to foreigners. A hotel, restaurant or shop bill will show either "14.65" or "14.650", both of which mean 14 dinars and 65 piastres (that is, 650 fils).
Banknotes are JD50, JD20, JD10, JD5 and JD1, all with Arabic on one side and English on the other. For coins, there's a gold, seven-sided half-dinar coin inset with a circular silver bit in the middle; a smaller quarter-dinar coin, also gold and seven-sided but without the silver inset; and silver coins of ten piastres and five piastres. Coppers of one piastre are virtually worthless. Note that ten-piastre coins are the same size, weight and value as older 100 fils coins which are still in circulation. Similarly, five-piastre coins have an identical twin, marked as 50 fils. All coins state their value on them somewhere in tiny English lettering.
In verbal exchanges, you'll find that people quite often leave the denomination off the end of prices. If they say something costs "ashreen" (twenty), it's up to you to decide whether they mean 20 fils (a throwaway amount), 20 piastres (ie 200 fils; the price of a street snack or a short bus ride), or 20 JDs (the cost of a double room in a small hotel). Nicknames also pop up: 10 piastres is a barizeh and 5 piastres is a shilin.