100 Soʻm Anniversary of State Currency

Issued to mark the tenth anniversary of the som, which replaced the transitional "som-coupon" in 1994 after Uzbekistan had spent three years navigating post-Soviet monetary independence. The som-coupon itself was only ever intended as a stopgap — introduced in 1992 at parity with the Soviet ruble while a permanent currency was prepared. That preparation took longer than expected, and the coupon depreciated badly in the interim.

Copper-nickel clad steel was the practical choice for a denomination that had lost significant purchasing power by 2004; the material cost mattered.