10 Soʻm

Uzbekistan's som coinage of the early 2000s was produced as the country worked to stabilize a currency that had been chronically undermined by black market exchange rates throughout the 1990s — at points, the unofficial rate for the som ran several times higher than the official one. The 10 som denomination sat in an awkward position: worth progressively less in real terms each year, yet still needed in sufficient volume to sustain everyday retail transactions.

Nickel clad steel was the practical choice for a mint system still consolidating after Soviet-era infrastructure dependencies.