3 Apsars Podalirius

Abkhazia's apsar coinage exists in a peculiar legal limbo — the territory issues its own coins through the Bank of Abkhazia, but the Russian ruble functions as the actual circulating currency. These pieces are produced for collectors, not commerce, and are never spent. The Podalirius swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius) was chosen as part of an ongoing wildlife series that has become the de facto numismatic identity of a state recognized by fewer than ten countries.