Kazakhstan's first national coinage — the tyin series — entered circulation in November 1993, introduced alongside the tenge as the country scrambled to establish monetary infrastructure just two years after independence from the Soviet Union. The transition was abrupt: Russia had cut Kazakhstan off from ruble supplies earlier that year, forcing Almaty's hand. These earliest issues were struck at the Kazakhstan Mint in Ust-Kamenogorsk, a facility better known for processing non-ferrous metals than producing coinage.
Kazakhstan's first national coinage — the tyin series — entered circulation in November 1993, introduced alongside the tenge as the country scrambled to establish monetary infrastructure just two years after independence from the Soviet Union. The transition was abrupt: Russia had cut Kazakhstan off from ruble supplies earlier that year, forcing Almaty's hand. These earliest issues were struck at the Kazakhstan Mint in Ust-Kamenogorsk, a facility better known for processing non-ferrous metals than producing coinage.