You're digging through an old travel bag or a dusty drawer and find them. A handful of colorful notes and a heavy pile of coins. The Croatian kuna. If you visited the Dalmatian coast or Zagreb anytime before 2023, you definitely remember the "marten" currency. But here's the thing: as of January 2026, those coins you just found might actually be worth more as scrap metal or souvenirs than as actual money.
Converting croatia kuna to usd isn't as simple as walking into a Chase branch or a local exchange booth anymore. Honestly, most tellers will just give you a blank stare. Croatia officially ditched the kuna for the euro on January 1, 2023, and the grace period for easy swaps has mostly evaporated.
The Reality of Croatia Kuna to USD in 2026
If you’re looking for a live market rate today, you’ll see numbers like 1 HRK = 0.1548 USD. It looks official. It looks like you can just hit "convert." But that "mid-market rate" is basically a ghost. It’s a mathematical calculation based on the fixed peg of the kuna to the euro ($1 EUR = 7.53450 HRK$) and the current strength of the US dollar against the euro.
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Basically, the kuna doesn't trade on the open market anymore. It’s a legacy currency.
If you have a 100 kuna note, the math says it’s worth about $15.48. But try getting a bank in New York or London to give you fifteen bucks for it. They won't. They can't. Most commercial banks stopped handling kuna months after the 2023 switch. Even in Croatia, the days of walking into a post office or a local bank (like ZABA or PBZ) to swap your old cash are over. Those institutions stopped doing exchanges at the end of 2023.
The "Oops" Deadline You Just Missed
This is the part that sucks. If you have kuna coins—those heavy little pieces with the nightingale or the tuna on them—you are likely out of luck for a formal exchange. The Croatian National Bank (HNB) set a hard deadline for coins: December 31, 2025.
Just a few weeks ago, people were literally lining up around the block at the HNB headquarters on Jurišićeva Street in Zagreb, desperate to dump their jars of coins before the clock struck midnight. If you're reading this in mid-January 2026, that window has slammed shut. The central bank is no longer required to take those coins back.
Banknotes, however, are a different story.
How to Actually Get Your Money Back
So, you have a 500 kuna note. You want USD. Since you can’t get it at a local bank, you have exactly one path left, and it involves the Croatian National Bank (Hrvatska narodna banka).
The good news? They will exchange kuna banknotes indefinitely. There is no time limit. The bad news? You basically have to be in Zagreb or trust the international mail system.
- In-Person Exchange: You have to go to the HNB cash desk at Franje Račkog 5 in Zagreb. They operate Monday through Friday, typically 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. You hand them the kuna; they give you euros at the fixed rate of 7.53450.
- The Mail-In Option: If you aren't planning a trip to Croatia soon, you can mail banknotes (up to 15,000 HRK) to the HNB. You do this at your own risk. You send them the cash, they process it, and they can send the euro equivalent back to you.
- The Final Step: Once you have the euros, then you can convert those to USD at any standard exchange office or through your bank.
It’s a two-step dance. You go from Kuna → Euro → USD. There is no direct "kuna to dollar" pipeline left in the professional financial world.
Why the Kuna Disappeared Anyway
Croatia’s move to the euro wasn't just a whim. It was a decade-long journey that started when they joined the EU in 2013. The kuna was actually a pretty stable currency because it was pegged to the euro for years. The Croatian National Bank spent a lot of energy making sure 1 euro always stayed around 7.5 kuna.
Because of that stability, the transition was relatively smooth for the locals, even if it caused a bit of "rounding up" inflation that made coffee in Dubrovnik more expensive than it used to be. For travelers, the switch ended the headache of having to exchange money twice if they were coming from Italy or Slovenia.
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Interestingly, the name "kuna" refers to the marten, a small weasel-like animal. In medieval times, marten pelts were used as units of value in trade. While the name is gone from the wallets, the marten still lives on—it's actually featured on the back of the Croatian 1-euro coin.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Exchange
I see this all the time on travel forums: people think they can just use their old kuna in Croatia if they "find a cool shopkeeper."
Don't do that.
It’s not legal tender. A shopkeeper taking kuna is basically accepting a souvenir. They can't put it in their register. They can't pay their suppliers with it. While some might take a 200 kuna note out of the goodness of their heart (knowing they'll have to personally go to the central bank to swap it), most will politely decline.
Also, watch out for those "scammy" exchange machines in airports that still list HRK. Often, the fees are so astronomical—sometimes 20% or 30%—that you're better off just keeping the bills as a memento.
Actionable Steps for Your Leftover Kuna
If you're sitting on a pile of money, here is exactly what you should do right now:
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- Check the denominations: If they are coins, consider them souvenirs. They make great golf ball markers or gifts for kids. The HNB deadline of Dec 31, 2025, has passed.
- Total the banknotes: If you have more than 500 HRK (about $77), it might be worth the effort of an international mail-in exchange. If it’s just a 10 or 20 kuna note, the postage to mail it to Zagreb will cost more than the money is worth.
- Plan a "Legacy" Trip: If you have a significant amount (like a few thousand kuna left over from a big cancelled wedding or trip), keep them in your passport holder. The next time you—or a friend—visit Zagreb, take them to the HNB office. Since there's no expiration date on notes, there's no rush.
- Avoid the "Street" Swap: Never try to exchange these with individuals online. There are plenty of counterfeit kuna notes floating around now that they aren't regularly checked by machines.
The era of the kuna is officially in the history books. Converting croatia kuna to usd in 2026 is less about finance and more about a specialized errand at a central bank. If you're heading to Croatia this summer, just bring your debit card and some euros; leave the martens in the souvenir drawer.