100 Tenge Capricorn

Part of Kazakhstan's ongoing zodiac series, this piece is one of the few modern circulation-quality coins to incorporate tantalum as a primary component. Tantalum is a dense, corrosion-resistant refractory metal more commonly found in capacitors and surgical implants than in numismatic applications — its use here is largely a collector novelty, though it does produce a distinctively dark, almost gunmetal centre that contrasts sharply against the silver ring.