A landlocked country in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and China. Despite being secluded by its mountainous landscape, the country is still part of great civilizations and has been home to diverse cultures and empires.
In the modern-day, Kyrgyzstan is the second poorest country in Central Asia although the country is backed with major Western lending institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the Asian Development Bank.
Kyrgyzstan uses the som as its legal tender. In 1933, the Kyrgyzstan Bank released 1, 5, and 20 som while the government issued 1, 10, 50 tyiyn notes. Designed by A.P. Tsygank and Dmitry Lysogorov, the first series was printed by De La Rue. The Kyrgyz Bank issued another series in 1994-1995 bearing enhanced security features and highlighting prominent Kyrgyz personalities. In 1997, a new set of notes were introduced with improved designs, and its 2009-2016 issues feature similar designs but in smaller sizes, making them more convenient to use. Finally, in 2006, a family of notes was released with revised design elements, such as the portrait on the left of the obverse and a round ornament design at the center that reflects COM when held up to a light source, a mask security technique by De La Rue.
