5000 Coupons

The "coupon" series issued by Uzbekistan in 1992–1993 was never intended as a permanent currency. These notes were stop-gap instruments rushed into circulation after independence, while the country prepared to replace the Soviet ruble and eventually introduce the som in 1994. The word "coupon" in the denomination is itself the tell — this was transitional money, openly acknowledged as provisional even at the moment of issuance.

The 5000 denomination arrived late in the coupon series, when inflation had already made smaller values near-worthless.