1 Rouble Year of the Yellow Dog

Transnistria — the narrow strip of land between the Dniester River and the Ukrainian border that declared independence from Moldova in 1990 but remains unrecognized by any United Nations member state — issues coins and banknotes through its own central bank as part of a broader project of de facto statehood. This 2017 rouble belongs to a Chinese lunar calendar series, an unusual thematic choice for a post-Soviet breakaway territory whose economy remains heavily dependent on Russian subsidies.

Nickel plated steel was the only practical option for a jurisdiction with no access to international metals markets on standard terms.