5 Tenge

Kazakhstan's inaugural banknote series — introduced in November 1993 when the tenge replaced the Soviet ruble at a rate of 1 tenge to 500 rubles — was produced entirely by Harrison & Sons before the country had established any domestic printing capacity. The 1993 series was ready before the public announcement; the government kept the switch secret to prevent currency flight, issuing just three days' notice before the ruble ceased to be legal tender.

Harrison & Sons had a long record of printing notes for newly independent states, and the contract here was straightforward. The single watermark security feature reflects the budget constraints of a country less than two years out of the Soviet Union.