5 Soʻm

Uzbekistan's first post-Soviet coinage series, introduced after the som replaced the Russian ruble in 1994, was struck under considerable pressure to establish a functioning monetary infrastructure for a newly independent state with no domestic minting tradition. These coins were produced abroad — most likely at the Leningrad Mint or under contract with a European facility — as Uzbekistan had no operational mint of its own at the time.

The nickel clad steel construction reflects the fiscal constraints of the mid-1990s transition economy rather than any long-term metallurgical planning.