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500 Afghanis Piedfort, Marco Polo Sheep
| Issuer | Da Afghanistan Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1998 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 35 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin/Arabic |
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a finely detailed relief of a Marco Polo sheep (Ovis ammon polii) standing in profile facing right, its massive, tightly spiralled horns rendered with great naturalistic precision. Rocky mountainous terrain and a stylised tree occupy the background field, evoking the high-altitude habitat of this Central Asian species. The legend FAUNA OF ASIA arcs along the upper periphery in Latin script, while MARCOPOLO DEER is inscribed along the lower rim. The date 1998 appears in the lower left field. |
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| Additional information |
Piedforts — coins struck at double the normal planchet thickness — have been used by mints since medieval France as presentation pieces and to demonstrate die quality, never intended for circulation. Afghanistan's use of the format in the late 1990s was purely commercial, produced for the international collector market during a period when the Taliban controlled Kabul and the Da Afghanistan Bank existed largely in name only.
The Marco Polo sheep, native to the high-altitude Pamir range where Afghanistan, Tajikistan, China, and Pakistan converge, was a recurring subject for Afghan wildlife commemoratives during this decade. The KM#144a designation confirms this as the piedfort variant of a standard issue.