100 Roubles Capricorn

Part of Belarus's ongoing zodiac bullion series, this issue was produced at a point when the Belarusian rouble was in freefall — the National Bank devalued the currency by roughly 56% in May 2011, and a second devaluation followed in September of the same year. Precious metal commemoratives issued that year functioned almost entirely as export products and foreign-currency earners rather than domestic collectibles.

The .900 fineness places it in an older continental tradition rather than the .9999 standard increasingly adopted by modern bullion programs.