100 Tenge Aquarius

Kazakhstan's bimetallic zodiac series pairs tantalum — a refractory metal more commonly found in capacitors and surgical implants than in coins — with a silver ring, a combination that creates a pronounced visual contrast the catalog images handle better than any description. Tantalum's extreme hardness makes die wear on these strikes a genuine technical concern, and the National Bank contracted specialized minting capacity accordingly. Relatively low mintages across the zodiac issues have made the complete twelve-coin set a serious collecting objective in Central Asian numismatics.