Kyrgyzstani som

Kyrgyzstani som
Кыргыз сом  (Kyrgyz) Киргизский сом  (Russian)
1 Kyrgyz som (1999/2000) 100 Kyrgyz som (1994)
ISO 4217
Code	KGS
Denominations
Subunit
1/100	tyiyn
Plural	som
tyiyn	tyiyn
Banknotes
Freq. used	20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 5000 som
Rarely used	1, 10, 50 tyiyn, 1, 5, 10 som
Coins
Freq. used	1, 3, 5, 10 som
Rarely used	1, 10, 50 tyiyn
Demographics
User(s)	Kyrgyzstan
Issuance
Central bank	National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic
Website	www.nbkr.kg
Valuation
Inflation	6.4%
Source	The World Factbook, 2006 est.

The som (Kyrgyz: сом, sometimes transliterated as "sum" or "soum") is the currency of the Kyrgyz Republic. The ISO 4217 currency code is KGS. The som is sub-divided into 100 tyiyn (Kyrgyz: тыйын).

History

After the collapse of the Soviet Union attempts were made by most republics to maintain a common currency. Certain politicians were hoping to at the very least maintain "special relations" among former Soviet republics, or the "near abroad". Another reason were the economic considerations for maintaining the ruble zone. The wish to preserve the strong trade relations between former Soviet republics was considered the most important goal.^[1]

The break-up of the Soviet Union was not accompanied by any formal changes in monetary arrangements. The Central Bank of Russia was authorized to take over the State Bank of the USSR (Gosbank) on 1 January 1992. It continued to ship USSR ruble notes and coins to the central banks of the fourteen newly independent countries, which had formerly been the main branches of Gosbank in the republics. The political situation, however, was not favorable for maintaining a common currency.^[2] Maintaining a common currency requires a strong political consensus in respect to monetary and fiscal targets, a common institution in charge of implementing these targets, and some minimum of common legislation (concerning the banking and foreign exchange regulations). These conditions were far from being met amidst the turbulent economic and political situation.

During the first half of 1992, a monetary union with 15 independent states all using the ruble existed. Since it was clear that the situation would not last, each of them was using its position as "free-riders" to issue huge amounts of money in the form of credit. ^[3] As a result, some countries were issuing coupons in order to "protect" their markets from buyers from other states. The Russian central bank responded in July 1992 by setting up restrictions to the flow of credit between Russia and other states. The final collapse of the ruble zone began when Russia pulled out with the exchange of banknotes by the Central Bank of Russia on Russian territory at the end of July 1993.

The som was introduced on May 10, 1993, replacing the Soviet ruble at a rate of 1 som = 200 rubles. Initially only banknotes were issued, coins were not introduced until 2008.

Etymology

In the Soviet Union, speakers of Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Uzbek called the ruble the som, and this name appeared written on the back of banknotes, among the texts for the value of the bill in all 15 official languages of the Union. The word som (sometimes transliterated "sum" or "soum") means "pure" in Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uyghur and Uzbek, as well as in many other Turkic languages. The word implies "pure gold".

Coins

Circulation coins were first introduced in January 2008, making Kyrgyzstan second to last of the former Soviet republics to issue them. The only remaining republic yet to introduce official coinage is Belarus. This move came with growing demand from vendors for coins, especially from slot machine industries and those desiring a more efficient system for collecting fare money. The coins were issued in denominations of 10 and 50 tiyin (also spelt tyiyn and tyin) made of brass-plated steel, and 1, 3 and 5 som, made of nickel-plated steel. A nickel-plated steel 10 som coin was issued a year later for 2009. All coins are minted by the Kazakhstan mint in Ust-Kamenogorsk and bear some resemblance to coins of the Russian Federation in their design. There are several commemorative non circulation coins made of silver and gold, and a special collector's issue of brass 1 tyiyn coin.

Coins of the som (2008–present)[4]
Image	Value	Technical parameters			Description			Date of
		Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	minting	issue	withdrawal	lapse
	1 tyin	14 mm	1,0g	Steel with brass finish	plain	flower, the "gul"	Emblem of Kyrgyzstan, country name, year	2008	January 2008	Current, but not issued for circulation
	10 tyin	15 mm	1,3 g							Current
	50 tyin	17 mm	1,8 g
	1 som	19 mm	2,5g	Steel with nickel finish	reeded	leather bottle, the "kookor" with symbol of a "tumar" represented by a triangle.	Emblem of Kyrgyzstan, country name, year	2008	January 2008	Current
	3 som	21 mm	3,2 g
	5 som	23 mm	4,2 g
	10 som	24,5 mm	5,4 g					2009	1 December 2009
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Banknotes

On 10 May 1993, the government issued 1, 10 and 50 tyiyn notes and the Kyrgyzstan Bank issued notes for 1, 5 and 20 som. In 1994, the Kyrgyz Bank issued a second series of notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 som. A third series followed from 1997 onwards in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 som. A fourth series was issued in 2009 and 2010 in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, and 5000 som.^[5]

1993 series

Banknotes of the 1993 series[6]
Image		Value	Dimensions	Watermark	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue	withdrawal	lapse
		1 tyiyn	90×70 mm	None	Value, Kyrgyz eagle	Value, Emblem of Kyrgyzstan	No date (1993)	10 May 1993	Current
		10 tyiyn
		50 tyiyn
		1 som	140×70 mm		Value, Manas	Value, Manas Ordo
		5 som
		20 som
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

1994 series

Second Series
Image		Value	Dimensions (mm)	Main Colour	Description		issue	withdrawal
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse
		1 som	135 х 65	brown. yellow	Abdylas Maldybaev	Komuz, kylkyak, Bishkek Philharmonic Orchestra	1994	Current
		5 som		blue, yellow	Bubusara Beyshenalieva	Kyrgyz National Opera
		10 som		green, yellow	Kasym Tynystanov	Mountain ranges of Kyrgyzstan and the Dzhety-Oguz tract
		20 som		red, orange, brown	Togolok Moldo	Manas Mausoleum
		50 som		red-brown, lilac	Kurmanjan Datka	Uzgen architectural complex of the 11-12th centuries
		100 som		gray, brown, olive	Toktogul Satylganov	Toktogul Hydroelectric Power Station	1995

1997 series

Starting in 1997 a new series of banknotes was introduced with similar themes, but enhanced design, compared to the previous series.

In January 2008 coins of 1 and 5 som and in December 2009 coins of 10 som where introduced. As a result, production of banknotes of these values ceased. The banknotes were however not removed from circulation, but are instead being phased out. In January 2008 the Kyrgyz National Bank estimated that within 2 years the 1 and 5 som banknotes would have almost completely disappeared from circulation.^[7]

Third series (1997-2005)
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour	Description			Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	printing	issue	withdrawal
		1 som	120 × 60 mm	Green-orange	Abdylas Maldybaev	Komuz, kylkyak, Bishkek Philharmonic Orchestra	As portrait	1999	February 7, 2000	Current
		5 som	135 × 65 mm	Dark blue	Bubusara Beyshenalieva	Kyrgyz National Opera		1997	December 17, 1997
		10 som		Dark green	Kasym Tynystanov	Mountain ranges of Kyrgyzstan and the Dzhety-Oguz tract
		20 som		Ochre-red	Togolok Moldo	Manas Mausoleum	As portrait, and value	2002	August 15, 2002
		50 som	145 × 70 mm	Red-violet	Kurmanjan Datka	Uzgen architectural complex of the 11-12th centuries
		100 som	150 × 72 mm	Green-violet	Toktogul Satylganov	Khan Tengri
		200 som	155 × 74 mm	Yellow	Alykul Osmonov	Lake Issyk Kul		2000 2004	August 28, 2000 August 2, 2004
		500 som	160 × 76 mm	Violet	Sayakbay Karalaev	Sayakbay Karalaev and images from the Manas (epic)		2000 2005	August 28, 2000 November 1, 2005
		1000 som	165 × 78 mm	Grey-green	Jusup Balasagyn	Takhti Sulaiman, Mount Sulaiman		2000	August 28, 2000
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

2009 series

In 2009 the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic issued a 5000 som note. Later new editions for 20, 50 and 100 som denominations followed. Among other things, these notes have enhanced security features compared to the previous series.

Fourth series (2009-2010)
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue	withdrawal
		20 som[8]	120 × 58 mm	Red	Togolok Moldo	Tash Rabat	2009	July 1, 2009	current
		50 som[9]	126 × 61 mm	Orange	Kurmanjan Datka	Minaret and mausoleum		July 1, 2009
		100 som[10]	132 × 63 mm	Blue	Toktogul Satylganov	Toktogul Hydroelectric Power Station		July 1, 2009
		200 som[11]	138 × 66 mm	Yellow	Alykul Osmonov	Lake Issyk-Kul	2010	December 1, 2010
		500 som[12]	144 × 68 mm	Violet	Sayakbay Karalaev	Manas Mausoleum		December 1, 2010
		1,000 som[13]	150 × 71 mm	Grey-green	Jusup Balasagyn	Takhti Sulaiman, Mount Sulaiman		December 1, 2010
		5,000 som[14]	156 × 73 mm	Green	Suimenkul Chokmorov	Ala-Too Square	2009	March 2, 2009

Exchange rates

One of many currency exchange kiosks in Bishkek's Dordoy Bazaar, quoting value of foreign currencies in Kyrgyz som

Current KGS exchange rates
From Google Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY RUB
From Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY RUB
From XE:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY RUB
From OANDA:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY RUB
From fxtop.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY RUB

See also

• Economy of Kyrgyzstan

References

1. Odling-Smee, J. ao (2001). The IMF and the ruble area, 1991-93. Available at: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2001/wp01101.pdf
2. Odling-Smee, J. ao (2001). The IMF and the ruble area, 1991-93. Available at: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2001/wp01101.pdf
3. Dąbrowski, M (1995). The reasons for the collapse of the Ruble zone. Available at: http://www.case-research.eu/sites/default/files/publications/3460035_058e_0.pdf
4. National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic. Coins. Available at:http://www.nbkr.kg/index1.jsp?item=1625&lang=ENG
5. National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic. Available at:http://www.nbkr.kg
6. National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic. Banknotes. Available at:http://www.nbkr.kg/index1.jsp?item=144&lang=ENG
7. For.kg. Бумажные банкноты в КР будут заменены на монеты в течение 2-х лет (17 January 2008). Available at: http://www.for.kg/ru/news/54908/
8. National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic. Available at:http://www.nbkr.kg/index1.jsp?item=1291&lang=ENG
9. National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic. Available at:http://www.nbkr.kg/index1.jsp?item=1292&lang=ENG
10. National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic. Available at:http://www.nbkr.kg/index1.jsp?item=1293&lang=ENG
11. National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic. Available at:http://www.nbkr.kg/index1.jsp?item=1294&lang=ENG
12. National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic. Available at:http://www.nbkr.kg/index1.jsp?item=1295&lang=ENG
13. National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic. Available at:http://www.nbkr.kg/index1.jsp?item=1296&lang=ENG
14. National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic. Available at:http://www.nbkr.kg/index1.jsp?item=1571&lang=ENG

External links

• Biographies of the figures depicted on Kyrgyz bank notes from the Spektator magazine
• Coins of Kyrgyzstan at CISCoins.net