A little-remarked consequence of the breakup of the Soviet Union: it spawned a lot of new currencies. Central Asia had a positive boomlet in new banknotes and coins in the early to mid-90s.

The effusion of notes included the production of my Kyrgyzstani 50 tyiyn note, part of a series (the country’s first) issued in 1993. The note made its way in recent years to an envelope in my possession, here in the heart of North America.

Fifty tyiyn is half a som, the base unit. The notes haven’t been withdrawn, but coins are apparently used for everything valued at 10 som or less these days. 1 som = about 1.2 U.S. cents, so I’ve got myself a theoretical sixth-tenths of a cent note.

No national heroes of the sub-som notes of this series, but an eagle on the (I think) obverse. The 1, 5 and 20-som notes feature an illustration of the Epic of Manas, a Kyrgyzstan work I have to admit being unfamiliar with until today.

Ah, Kyrgyzstan. Most likely to be confused with Kazakhstan, at least here in the West. I have to add that it looks like Kazakhstan has some pretty nice coins.