20 Diram

Tajikistan's diram series was introduced in 2001 following the replacement of the Soviet-era ruble with the somoni, named for Ismoil Somoni, the 9th-century Samanid ruler adopted as a national symbol after independence. The brass-plated steel composition reflects the country's position as one of the poorest economies in the former Soviet space, where full brass or cupro-nickel coinage would have been economically impractical for low-denomination circulation.