20 Roubles Gomel

Gomel is Belarus's second-largest city and suffered some of the most severe radioactive contamination following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster — the region directly downwind of the reactor. This coin belongs to the "Cities of Belarus" commemorative series issued by the National Bank through the mid-2000s, a program that ran to dozens of types and generated significant collector interest domestically. The series coincided with a period when Belarus was aggressively expanding its commemorative output, partly to generate hard currency.

Gomel's recorded history stretches to 1142, making it among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the country.