10 Roubles Butterfly Death's-head

Transnistria — the narrow strip of territory between the Dniester River and the Ukrainian border that declared independence from Moldova in 1990 but remains unrecognized by any UN member state — issues commemorative coinage primarily as a revenue mechanism, since the pieces circulate nowhere outside collector markets. The Transnistrian Republican Bank has no correspondent relationships with recognized central banks, which makes even the procurement of coin blanks a logistical exercise conducted through intermediaries.

The Death's-head hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos) takes its species name from Atropos, the Fate who cuts the thread of life — a naming convention dating to Linnaeus.