Kazakhstani tenge

Kazakhstani tenge
Қазақ теңгесі (Kazakh) Казахский тенге (Russian)
200 tenge (new design) 5, 10, 20, 50 and 2,000 tenge (old design)
ISO 4217 code	KZT
User(s)	Kazakhstan
Inflation	0.2% (December 2008)
Source	Basic Macroeconomic Indicators on the homepage
Subunit
1/100	tïın (тиын)
Symbol	, ₸
Plural	The language(s) of this currency does not have a morphological plural distinction.
Coins
Freq. used	1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 tenge
Banknotes	200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 tenge
Central bank	National Bank of Kazakhstan
Website	www.nationalbank.kz

The tenge (Kazakh: теңге, teñge) is the currency of Kazakhstan. It is divided into 100 tïın (тиын, also transliterated as tiyin or tijn). It was introduced on 15th of November 1993 to replace the Soviet ruble at a rate of 1 tenge = 500 rubles. The ISO-4217 code is KZT.

The word tenge in the Kazakh and most other Turkic languages means a set of scales (cf the old Uzbek tenga or the Tajik borrowed term tanga). The origin of the word is the Turkic teğ- which means being equal, balance. The name of this currency is thus similar to the lira, pound and peso. The name of the currency is related to the Russian word for money Russian: деньги / den'gi, which was borrowed from Turkic.

History

Kazakhstan was one of the last countries of the CIS to introduce a national currency. In 1991 a "special group" of designers was created: Mendybay Alin, Timur Suleymenov, Asimsaly Duzelkhanov and Khayrulla Gabzhalilov. On November 12, 1993, a decree of the President of Kazakhstan, "About introducing national currency of Republic of Kazakhstan", was issued. On November 15, 1993, the tenge was brought into circulation. As such, November 15 is celebrated as the "Day of National Currency of Republic of Kazakhstan". In 1995, a tenge printing factory was opened in Kazakhstan. The first consignment of tenge was printed abroad, in the U.K.. The first coins were minted in Germany.

The new symbol for the Kazakhstani tenge.

On March 20, 2007 two days before the Nauryz holiday, the National Bank of Kazakhstan approved a graphical symbol for the Tenge: . The character was proposed for encoding in Unicode in March 2008^[1] It was released at the codepoint U+20B8 ₸ tenge sign as of Unicode 5.2.^[2] It resembles the Japanese postal mark.

Coins

1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 tenge coins

In 1993, coins were introduced in denominations of 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 tiyn, 1, 3, 5, 10 and 20 tenge. 50 tenge were introduced in 1997, followed by 100 tenge in 2002 and 2 tenge in 2005. Coins currently in circulation are:

• 1 tenge (Brass)
• 2 tenge (Brass)
• 5 tenge (Brass)
• 10 tenge (Brass)
• 20 tenge (Copper-Nickel)
• 50 tenge (Copper-Nickel)
• 100 tenge (Bimetallic, Brass and Copper-Nickel)

Commemorative coins are issued in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 tenge. Silver and gold bullion coins exist in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 tenge.

New symbol of tenge (₸) used on info-board of a currence exchange office in Almaty

Banknotes

200 tenge (old design)

1993 series

In 1993, the National Bank of Kazakhstan issued notes in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 tiyn, 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 tenge. These were followed by 500 and 1,000 tenge notes in 1994. 2,000 tenge notes were introduced in 1996, with 5,000 tenge in 1998 and 10,000 tenge in 2003. Notes currently in circulation are:

• 200 tenge portrait of Al-Farabi
• 500 tenge portrait of Al-Farabi, fragment of Khodzha Akhmet Yassaui mausoleum
• 1,000 tenge portrait of Al-Farabi
• 2,000 tenge portrait of Al-Farabi
• 5,000 tenge portrait of Al-Farabi
• 10,000 tenge portrait of Al-Farabi, image of snow leopard.

Interestingly, the text on the reverse side of 200 tenge banknote is written in Kazakh, although text on the reverse sides of the other banknotes is written in Russian.

1993 Series
Image		Value	Main Colour		Description		Date
Obverse	Reverse		Obverse	Reverse	Obverse	Reverse	issue	annul
		1 tiyn			value in numeral and Kazakh, unique geometric design background	value in numeral and Kazakh, Kazakhstan coat of arms, unique geometric design background	1993	2001
		2 tiyn
		5 tiyn
		10 tiyn
		20 tiyn
		50 tiyn
		1 tenge	dark blue	pink	Portrait of Al-Farabi	Geometrical constructions and formulations of Al-Farabi		2012-2018[3]
		3 tenge	green, grey	green	Portrait of Suinbay	Alatau landscape
		5 tenge	brown	yellow, red	Portrait of Kurmangazy	Mausoleum
		10 tenge	dark blue	pink	Portrait of Chokan Ualihanov	Ok Zhetpes mountain
		20 tenge	dark brown	brown	Portrait of Abay Kunanbaev	Illustration of golden eagle with the man, drawn from works of Abay Kunanbaev
		50 tenge	light brown	brown	Portrait of Abulhair Khan	Rock paintings of Mangistau
		100 tenge	violet	pink	Portrait of Ablay Khan	Hodja Ahmed Yassavi mausoleum
		200 tenge	brown, red	yellow, blue	Portrait of Al-Farabi	Hodja Ahmed Yassavi mausoleum	1994
		500 tenge	dark blue, blue	blue, violet	Portrait of Al-Farabi	Hodja Ahmed Yassavi mausoleum
		1,000 tenge	green, red	green, blue, red	Portrait of Al-Farabi	Hodja Ahmed Yassavi mausoleum
		2,000 tenge	green, blue	green, brown	Portrait of Al-Farabi	Hodja Ahmed Yassavi mausoleum	1996
		5,000 tenge	brown, violet	brown	Portrait of Al-Farabi	Hodja Ahmed Yassavi mausoleum	1998
		10,000 tenge	blue	blue, brown	Portrait of Al-Farabi	Snow leopard against a background of mountains	2003

2006 series

Some 2,000 tenge notes spelled the word "банкі" (bank) incorrectly as "бан'қі"

The National Bank of Kazakhstan issued banknotes of new series in 2006. They have the same values as the previously existed ones.

The 2006 series is far more exotic than its predecessors. The obverse is vertical and the denomination is written in Kazakh. All denominations depict the Astana Bayterek monument, the flag of Kazakhstan, the Coat of arms, the handprint with a signature of president Nazarbayev and fragments of the national anthem. The main differences across each denomination are only the colours, the values, the underprint patterns.

On the contrast, the reverses are more differentiated. The value is written in Russian. Each denomination shows a unique building and geography of Kazakhstan in the outline of Kazakhstan border.

The first printing of the 2,000 and 5,000 tenge notes issued in 2006 had misspellings of the word for "bank" (the correct spelling "банкі" was misspelled "банқі"). The misspelling was a politically sensitive issue due to the cultural and political importance of the Kazakh language.^[4]

2006 Series
Image		Value	Main Colour	Description		Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse
		200 tenge	orange, green	Astana Bayterek monument, Kazakhstan flag, Kazakhstan coat of arms, handprint with a signature of Nursultan Nazarbayev, fragments of the national anthem, value in numerals and Kazakh words, issuing bank in Kazakh, inscription in Kazakh stating that counterfeiting banknotes is against the law	Transport and Communication Ministry and a winged snow leopard on the bridge over River Ishim, outline map of Kazakhstan with Ministry of Defense and the steppes in the background, value in Russian, name of issuing in Kazakh, logo of issuing bank, inscription in Russian stating that counterfeiting banknotes is against the law	2006
		500 tenge	blue, grey		Ministry of Finance and Akimat (City Hall) of Astana, outline map of Kazakhstan with gulls over the sea in background, value in Russian, name of issuing in Kazakh, logo of issuing bank, inscription in Russian stating that counterfeiting banknotes is against the law
		1,000 tenge	yellow, brown		President Culture Center, outline map of Kazakhstan with mountains in background, value in Russian, name of issuing in Kazakh, logo of issuing bank, inscription in Russian stating that counterfeiting banknotes is against the law
		2,000 tenge	dark and light green		Abai Opera House, outline map of Kazakhstan with mountain lake in background, value in Russian, name of issuing in Kazakh, logo of issuing bank, inscription in Russian stating that counterfeiting banknotes is against the law
		5,000 tenge	deep-brown, red		Independence Monument and the Kazakhstan Hotel, outline map of Kazakhstan with mountains in background, value in Russian, name of issuing in Kazakh, logo of issuing bank, inscription in Russian stating that counterfeiting banknotes is against the law
		10,000 tenge	violet, blue		Residence Akorda (presidential palace), outline map of Kazakhstan with canyons in the background, value in Russian, name of issuing in Kazakh, logo of issuing bank, inscription in Russian stating that counterfeiting banknotes is against the law

Commemorative banknotes

• 5,000 tenge (2001)

5,000 tenge issued banknote in 2001 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union.

• 5,000 tenge (2008)

5,000 tenge banknote issued in 2008 to commemorate 15 years of the Kazakhstani tenge.

• 1,000 tenge (2010)

1,000 tenge banknote issued in 2010 to commemorate the Chairmanship of Kazakhstan in the OSCE.

• 1,000 tenge (2011)

1,000 tenge banknote issued in 2011 to commemorate Kazakhstan's chairmanship in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

• 2,000 tenge (2011)

2,000 tenge banknote issued in 2011 to commemorate the 7th Asian Winter Games in Astana.

• 10,000 tenge (2011)

10,000 tenge banknote issued in 2011 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union.

Inflation level

Year	Annual inflation level
2001	6.4%
2002	6.6%
2003	5.7%
2004	7.9%
2005	9%
2006	8.6%
2007	18.8%
2008	9.5%
2009	6.2%
2010	7.8 % [5]

Source:^[6]

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

See also

• Economy of Kazakhstan

References

1. ^ Everson, Michael. 2008. Proposal to encode the Kazakh TENGE SIGN in the UCS
2. ^ http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U20A0.pdf
3. ^ http://www.odk.kz/blog/3722.html
4. ^ Kazakh central bank misspells ‘bank’ on money
5. ^ Казинформ, Екатерина Ионова. "Инфляция в Казахстане по итогам 2010 года сложилась на уровне 7,8%". http://inform.kz/rus/article/2339018. Retrieved 13 January 2011. 
6. ^ http://www.inform.kz/eng/article/2226539

External links

• Currency exchange rates in Kazakhstan
• News from the National Bank of Kazakhstan
• Updates on new banknotes and coins from Kazakhstan
• Coins of Kazakhstan
• Banknotes of Kazakhstan