200 Som Snow Leopard

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) has been a protected species in Kyrgyzstan since Soviet conservation decrees of the 1980s, though enforcement across the Tian Shan and Pamir ranges remained inconsistent after independence. Current estimates place the Kyrgyz population at roughly 300–400 individuals — one of the more viable Central Asian populations but still under sustained pressure from prey depletion and retaliatory killings by herders.

This half-troy-ounce issue is part of a longer Kyrgyz wildlife bullion program that began in the early 2000s, aimed partly at building numismatic export revenue for a country with limited hard-currency streams.