Transdniestria — the Russian-backed breakaway state wedged between Moldova and Ukraine — issues collector coins with some regularity despite having no international recognition as a sovereign nation. The 2021 United Nations International Year of Peace and Trust gave the Transdniestrian Republican Bank a convenient multilateral hook, allowing a politically isolated territory to align itself, at least symbolically, with a UN initiative it has no formal standing to participate in.
Nickel plated steel rather than silver signals this was produced for the domestic collector market, where hard currency is scarce.
Transdniestria — the Russian-backed breakaway state wedged between Moldova and Ukraine — issues collector coins with some regularity despite having no international recognition as a sovereign nation. The 2021 United Nations International Year of Peace and Trust gave the Transdniestrian Republican Bank a convenient multilateral hook, allowing a politically isolated territory to align itself, at least symbolically, with a UN initiative it has no formal standing to participate in.
Nickel plated steel rather than silver signals this was produced for the domestic collector market, where hard currency is scarce.