1000 Tenge Griffin

Kazakhstan has issued a sustained series of coins featuring creatures from Scythian and Saka animal-style art, a tradition rooted in the nomadic cultures that dominated the Eurasian steppe from roughly the 9th century BC onward. The griffin — a recurring motif in Saka goldwork recovered from burial mounds across modern Kazakhstan — carries genuine archaeological grounding here rather than decorative invention.

The gilding on this issue follows a technique the National Bank has refined across multiple entries in the series to selectively highlight specific design elements against the matte silver field.