Tenge was launched in November 1993 to succeed the Ruble, which came as a legacy of the Soviet Union. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan was reluctant to leave the ruble behind. The tenge, is the currency of Kazakhstan and is subdivided into 100 tiyins. During the “Day of National Currency of the Republic of Kazakhstan,” tenge is celebrated as a symbol of civic dignity.
During that era, it was following this rate, 1 tenge was equal to 500 Russian rubles this was because Kazakhstan didn’t have an appropriate structure at that period and the first printing of banknotes and coinage was not made in the country and was done in a printing factory in the UK. The first coins were minted in Germany.
Tenge has units 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 tiyin. These are normal values used in a day to day life, but there are also commemorative coins, which has values of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000 and 10,000 tenge.
There are also notes between the values of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 tiyn, plus 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 tenge.
Coins :
The first series of coins included 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 tiyin, and 1, 3, 5, 10, and 20 tenges.
The second series came in 1998 and did not include the tiyininstead, the smallest denomination was just 1 tenge.
A 100 tenge coin was issued in 2002, and a special 2 tenge coin was published in 2005.
| VALUE | EDGE | OBVERSE | REVERSE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TENGEPLAIN | VALUE YEAR | EMBLEM OF KAZAKHSTAN |
| 2 | TENGEPLAIN | VALUE YEAR | EMBLEM OF KAZAKHSTAN |
| 5 | TENGEPLAIN | VALUE YEAR | EMBLEM OF KAZAKHSTAN |
| 20 | TENGE GROOVED | VALUE YEAR | EMBLEM OF KAZAKHSTAN |
| 50 | TENGE GROOVED | VALUE YEAR | EMBLEM OF KAZAKHSTAN |
| 100 | TENGE GROOVED | VALUE YEAR | EMBLEM OF KAZAKHSTAN |
Notes :
1000 tenge is yellow, brown, orange, and blue and covers Kazakh Eli monument in Astana (representing independence); pigeons; Emblem of Kazakhstan; Flag of Kazakhstan. Borders of Kazakhstan, mountains, landscapes of Ustyurt Plateau.
2000 tenge is green consists of Kazakh Eli monument in Astana (representing independence); pigeons; Emblem of Kazakhstan; Flag of Kazakhstan and Border of Kazakhstan Ertis River.
5000 tenge is yellow, red, blue, and green which consists of Kazakh Eli monument in Astana (representing independence); pigeons; Flag of Kazakhstan Emblem of Kazakhstan; and border of Kazakhstan; ZailijskyAlatau ridge (in the Tian-Shan mountains); Hotel “Kazakhstan”.
10,000 tenge is violet and blue covers Kazakh Eli monument in Astana (representing independence); pigeons; Emblem of Kazakhstan; Flag of Kazakhstan and Palace of the President.
20,000 tenge is violet and blue-grey pictures Kazakh Eli monument in Astana expressing pigeons; Emblem of Kazakhstan; Flag of Kazakhstan, government buildings and Palace of the President.