Uzbekistani soʻm

For earlier currencies used in Uzbekistan, see Bukharan tenga, Kokand tenga and Khwarazmi tenga.

Uzbekistani soʻm
Oʻzbekiston soʻmi / Ўзбекистон сўми (in Uzbek)
25 soʻm.
ISO 4217
Code	UZS
Denominations
Subunit
1/100	Tiyin
Plural	soʻm
Tiyin	Tiyin
Banknotes	1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000 soʻm
Coins	1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500 soʻm
Demographics
User(s)	Uzbekistan
Issuance
Central bank	Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Website	www.cbu.uz
Valuation
Inflation	8.5%
Source	, 2015 est.

The soʻm (Uzbek: soʻm in Latin script, сўм in Cyrillic script) is the currency of Uzbekistan in Central Asia. The ISO 4217 currency code is UZS.

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 Kyrgyz, Uyghur and Uzbek, as well as in many other Turkic languages. The word implies "pure gold".

History

First soʻm

Like other republics of the former Soviet Union, Uzbekistan continued using the Soviet/Russian ruble after independence. On July 26, 1993, a new series of Russian ruble was issued and the old Soviet/Russian ruble ceased to be legal tender in Russia.^[1][2] Some successor states had their national currencies before the change, some chose to continue using the pre-1993 Soviet/Russian ruble, and some chose to use both the pre-1993 and the new Russian ruble. Tables of modern monetary history: Asia^[3] implies that both old and new rubles were used in Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan replaced the ruble with soʻm at par in on November 15, 1993.^[3] No subdivisions of this som were issued and only banknotes were produced, in denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 5000, and 10,000 soʻm. Because it was meant to be a transitional currency, the design was rather simplistic. All notes had the Coat of arms on obverse, and Sher-Dor Madrasah of the Registan in Samarkand on reverse.^[4]

Second soʻm

A 500 Soʻm note issued in 1999.

On July 1, 1994,^[3] a second som was introduced at a rate of 1 new soʻm = 1000 old soʻm. This soʻm is subdivided into 100 tiyin. At its introduction, 1 U.S. dollar was equal to 25 soʻm.

Inflation

As of July 2017, the largest denomination of Uzbek currency is the 10,000 soʻm banknote, requiring Uzbeks to carry enormous amounts of notes just to carry out grocery shopping and bill payment. Consequently, the smallest denomination, the 1 tiyin, is only worth 1/2900 cent U.S. making it the "world's most worthless coin". However, coins and banknotes smaller than 25 soʻm are rare now.^[5]

The rampant inflation situation is considered a politically sensitive issue in Uzbekistan, which is why the Uzbek government is slow to acclimate the currency to the current value by issuing higher coin and note denominations. As a result, the current highest coin denomination in circulation is the 500 soʻm while the highest banknote denomination is the 10,000 soʻm. Official state figures put inflation as of the first half of 2011 at 3.6%, however accurate numbers are pinned far higher. Coins and banknotes below 25 soʻm are practically worthless now.

Coins

2 series of coins have been issued for the second soʻm. They can be easily distinguished by the script used for the Uzbek language. The first series was written in Cyrillic script, while the second series is written in Latin script.

Second Series
Image	Value	Technical parameters			Description			Date of minting
		Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse
	1 soʻm	18.4 mm	2.83 g	Stainless steel	Reeded	Coat of arms without stars Bank title, year of minting	Value, map of Uzbekistan	2000
	5 soʻm	21.2 mm	3.35 g	Brass clad steel	Plain	Coat of arms without stars Bank title, year of minting	Value, map of Uzbekistan	2001
	10 soʻm	19.75 mm	2.71 g	Nickel clad steel	Plain	Coat of arms without stars Bank title, year of minting	Value, map of Uzbekistan	2001
	25 soʻm	27 mm				Coat of arms without stars State title, year of minting	Value, Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu	1999
	50 soʻm	26.1 mm	8 g		Plain and reeded sections	Coat of arms without stars Bank title, year of minting	Value, map of Uzbekistan	20011
	50 soʻm	26.1 mm	7.9 g				Value, statue and ruin of Shahrisabz	20022
	100 soʻm	26.9 mm	7.9 g		Inscription	Coat of arms without stars Bank title, year of minting	Value, map of Uzbekistan, sunrays	20043
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Banknotes

The first banknotes were issued by the State Bank of Uzbekistan in 1993. All of the denominations share the same designs: the Coat of arms of Uzbekistan on the front and the Medressa on Reghistan Square in Samarkand. The second and current series, issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzberkistan, were released in 1994 in denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 soʻm. A 200 soʻm banknote was issued in 1997, the 500 soʻm in 1999, the 1,000 soʻm in 2001, the 5,000 soʻm in 2013 and 10,000 soʻm was issued on March 10, 2017.

1994-2017 Series[6]
Image		Value	Main Colour	Description		Date of printing
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse
		1 soʻm	Green and pink	Coat of arms	Alisher Navoi Opera and Ballet Theater in Tashkent	1994
		3 soʻm	Red		Mosque of Çaçma Ayub Mazar in Bukhara
		5 soʻm	Blue and orange	Coat of arms and Islamic pattern	Ali Shir Nawai Monument in Tashkent
		10 soʻm	Purple		Gur-e Amir in Samarkand
		25 soʻm	Blue and pink		The Mausoleum of Kazi Zade Rumi in the Shah-i-Zinda complex in Samarkand
		50 soʻm	Brown		The three Madrasahs of the Registan in Samarkand
		100 soʻm	Purple		Bunyodkor Palace in Tashkent
		200 soʻm	Green	Coat of arms	Detail of a tiger mosaiс on the Sher-Dor Madrasah at the Registan in Samarkand	1997
		500 soʻm	Red and some green		Statue of Timur in Tashkent	1999
		1,000 soʻm	Grey		Amir Timur Museum in Tashkent	2001
		5,000 soʻm	Green		National Assembly (Oliy Majlis) in Tashkent	2013
		10,000 soʻm	Blue		Senate (Senat) in Tashkent	2017
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

See also

• Economy of Uzbekistan
• Kyrgyzstani som

Notes

References

External links

• Coins of Uzbekistan at CISCoins.net
• Catalog of paper money of Uzbekistan