Catalog
500 Tenge
| Issuer | National Bank of Kazakhstan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1994 |
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| Size | 143 × 68 mm |
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| Obverse description | Portrait vignette of Äl-Fārābī (870–950), the medieval Turkic-Persian polymath, philosopher, and mathematician, positioned at centre-right against an underprint of traditional Kazakh national ornamental patterns. The denomination and issuing authority appear in both Kazakh (Cyrillic) script, with the years of the subject's life inscribed alongside his name. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | ПОДДЕЛКА БАНКНОТ ПРЕСЛЕДУЕТСЯ ПО ЗАКОНУ ПЯТЬСОТ 500 ТЕНГЕ НАЦИОНАЛЬНЫЙ БАНК КАЗАХСТАНА (Translation: Counterfeiting banknotes is punished by law, Five Hundred Tenge, National Bank of Kazakhstan) |
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| Comments |
Kazakhstan's first 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 under considerable secrecy — the notes were printed and warehoused in Britain before the currency launch to prevent speculation and capital flight. The 1994 date on this denomination reflects a second print run as demand outpaced the initial supply.
Harrison & Sons had long supplied banknotes to former British colonial territories, but Kazakhstan was a new kind of client: a post-Soviet state building monetary infrastructure from scratch with no existing central bank printing capacity.