500 Tenge Nymphaea alba

Kazakhstan's ongoing "Flora and Fauna" collector series has produced dozens of these nickel silver issues over the past two decades, each dedicated to a species native to or present within the country's borders. Nymphaea alba, the white water lily, grows in the slow-moving rivers and lakes of northern and western Kazakhstan — its presence there at the eastern edge of its natural range makes it a logical, if not especially urgent, conservation subject. The National Bank has issued these 500 Tenge pieces consistently enough that the series itself is now a cataloging project in its own right.