Uzbekistan's first banknote series, introduced in 1992, replaced Soviet rubles as the country navigated the economic chaos of post-independence transition. The so'm was initially issued as a transitional currency — the "so'm-kupon" — before the permanent so'm replaced it in 1994, which means these 1992 notes had an extremely short window of legal tender status.
The series was printed by De La Rue. Hoarding was common during the coupon period, partly because exchange rates were volatile and partly because Uzbeks had lived through enough monetary disruptions to distrust any new paper. Circulated examples are accordingly less common than surviving uncirculated stock.
Uzbekistan's first banknote series, introduced in 1992, replaced Soviet rubles as the country navigated the economic chaos of post-independence transition. The so'm was initially issued as a transitional currency — the "so'm-kupon" — before the permanent so'm replaced it in 1994, which means these 1992 notes had an extremely short window of legal tender status.
The series was printed by De La Rue. Hoarding was common during the coupon period, partly because exchange rates were volatile and partly because Uzbeks had lived through enough monetary disruptions to distrust any new paper. Circulated examples are accordingly less common than surviving uncirculated stock.