500 Tenge Falco Cherrug

The saker falcon holds particular significance in Central Asian falconry traditions stretching back over three millennia, and Kazakhstan has long considered the bird a national symbol — it appears in the country's coat of arms. By 2004, wild saker populations across the Kazakh steppe had collapsed under pressure from illegal trapping for Gulf falconry markets, where a single trained bird could fetch tens of thousands of dollars. This coin was issued in direct response to that crisis, part of a broader conservation awareness program coordinated with international wildlife bodies.

The series it belongs to — Kazakhstan's wildlife commemoratives of the early 2000s — consistently sold out on issue.