500 Afghanis Multicolor Lynx

Afghanistan issued a series of wildlife-themed silver commemoratives throughout the 1990s despite being in the grip of civil war — the Rabbani government retained nominal international recognition and continued contracting European mints for collector pieces that had no domestic circulation whatsoever. The revenue went to the state treasury, such as it was.

The Eurasian lynx depicted here is native to the mountainous northeast of the country, where populations in Nuristan and Badakhshan have historically persisted in low numbers.