Mongolia issued a substantial run of commemorative pieces in the mid-2000s under licensing arrangements that effectively outsourced design and production to European minting houses — this piece almost certainly originates from that program. The gilt copper-nickel composition was a cost-control measure that allowed the Bank of Mongolia to offer nominally gold-associated pieces at accessible price points for the collector market, with no pretense of bullion value.
KM#254a denotes the gilt variant of a base issue, the silver and standard copper-nickel versions having been struck concurrently.
Mongolia issued a substantial run of commemorative pieces in the mid-2000s under licensing arrangements that effectively outsourced design and production to European minting houses — this piece almost certainly originates from that program. The gilt copper-nickel composition was a cost-control measure that allowed the Bank of Mongolia to offer nominally gold-associated pieces at accessible price points for the collector market, with no pretense of bullion value.
KM#254a denotes the gilt variant of a base issue, the silver and standard copper-nickel versions having been struck concurrently.