1000 Manat Ruhnama

The Ruhnama — literally "Book of the Soul" — was written by Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan's president-for-life, and declared mandatory reading in schools, universities, and government offices. Passing a driving test required knowledge of its contents. Niyazov died in December 2006, the same year this coin was struck, and within months of his death the book's compulsory status began to be quietly dismantled by his successor.

Minting a gold coin to honor one's own spiritual autobiography is the kind of decision only an unchecked autocracy produces.