Catalog
10 Som
| Issuer | Kyrgyz Bank (Кыргыз Банкы) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1997 |
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| Value | 10 Som |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central portrait vignette of Qasım Tınıstanov (1901–1938), scholar and first Minister of Education of the Kyrgyz Republic, set against a fine guilloche underprint. The bank name and denomination appear in Cyrillic script, with additional decorative border elements in the national ornamental style. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central intaglio-printed landscape vignette of the Jety-Ögüz red rock formations and surrounding mountain ranges, rendered in shades of green and grey against a multicolour guilloche underprint incorporating traditional Kyrgyz ornamental motifs. The denomination numeral '10' appears at lower left and upper right, with a decorative rosette at lower right and the issue year '1997' at bottom right. A vertical band of Kyrgyz ornamental script runs along the left margin. |
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| Comments |
The 1997 series was Kyrgyzstan's second generation of som notes, replacing the provisional 1993 issue that had been rushed into production following the country's exit from the Soviet ruble zone in May of that year. The 1993 notes were printed by Goznak in Moscow — an awkward arrangement for a newly independent state — and the 1997 redesign allowed Kyrgyz Bank to establish a more distinctly national currency identity.
Watermark-only security on this denomination reflects the modest infrastructure available to smaller post-Soviet issuers in the mid-1990s. Security thread, metallic ink, and microprinting came later in the series.