Uzbekistani soʻm

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

For earlier currencies used in Uzbekistan, see Bukharan tenga, Kokand tenga and Khwarazmi tenga.
Uzbekistani soʻm
Oʻzbek soʻmi / Ўзбек сўми (in Uzbek)
100,000 soʻm.
ISO 4217
CodeUZS
Denominations
Subunit
1/100Tiyin
Banknotes
Freq. used1000, 5000, 10,000, 50,000, 100,000 soʻm
Rarely used200, 500 soʻm
Coins
Freq. used50, 100, 200, 500 soʻm
Rarely used1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 50 tiyin, 1, 5, 10, 25 soʻm
Demographics
User(s) Uzbekistan
Issuance
Central bankCentral Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan (O'zbekiston Respublikasi Markaziy Banki)
Websitewww.cbu.uz
Valuation
Inflation8.5%
Source, 2015 est.

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".

First soʻm

History

Like other republics of the former Soviet Union, Uzbekistan continued using the Soviet/Russian ruble after independence. On 26 July 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.

Coins

No coins were issued for the first soʻm.

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 madrasahs on Registan Square in Samarkand.

Second soʻm

History

A 500 Soʻm note issued in 1999.

On 1 July 1994,[3] a second som was introduced at a rate of 1 new soʻm = 1000 old soʻm. This soʻm is subdivided into 100 tiyin.

Inflation

Until 2013, the largest denomination of Uzbek currency was the 1,000 soʻm banknote, then worth US$0.60, requiring Uzbeks to carry large amounts of notes just to carry out grocery shopping and bill payment.

Since 2019, the largest denomination is the 100,000 soʻm banknote (as of October 2019 worth US$10.55), which made the situation easier. The smallest denomination, the 1 tiyin, is worth less than 19400 of a U.S. cent making it the "world's most worthless coin" that is still legal tender. However, coins and banknotes smaller than 50 soʻm are rare now.[4]

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 its 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 100,000 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

3 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 and third series is written in Latin script.

First Series
ImageValueCompositionDescriptionDate of minting
ObverseReverseObverseReverse
1 tiyin Brass-clad steel Coat of arms with 12 stars
State title
Value, year of minting 1994
3 tiyin
5 tiyin
10 tiyin Nickel-clad steel Coat of arms with 12 stars
State title
Value, year of minting 1994
20 tiyin
50 tiyin
1 soʻm 1997, 1998, 1999
5 soʻm 1997, 1998, 1999
10 soʻm 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
For table standards, see the coin specification table.
Second Series
ImageValueTechnical parametersDescriptionDate of minting
DiameterMassCompositionEdgeObverseReverse
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 Nickel-plated steel 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.

Third series (2018)

In May 2018 the introduction of new coins valued 50, 100, 200 and 500 soʻm was announced. All previously issued banknotes and coins of those denominations are to be withdrawn from circulation by July 2020.

Third series (2018)[5]
ImageValueTechnical parametersDescriptionDate of
DiameterMassCompositionEdgeObverseReversemintingissuewithdrawallapse
50 soʻm 18.0 mm 2.0g Nickel-plated steel Plain Denomination National emblem of Uzbekistan, year of minting 2018 2 July 2018[6] Current
100 soʻm 20.0 mm 2.5 g Independence and Goodness monument, Tashkent
200 soʻm 22.0 mm 3.3 g Detail of a tiger mosaiс on the Sher-Dor Madrasah at the Registan in Samarkand
500 soʻm 24.0 mm 3.9 g Palace of Conventions (Anjumanlar Saroyi) in Tashkent
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Banknotes

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, the 10,000 soʻm on 10 March 2017, the 50,000 soʻm on 22 August 2017 and the 100,000 soʻm on 25 February 2019. The latter four denominations feature inscriptions in Latin-based Uzbek as opposed to Uzbek Cyrillic in banknotes of 1 to 1,000 Uzbek soʻm.

1994-2017 Series[7]
ImageValueMain ColourDescriptionDate of printingDate of first issuewithdrawal
ObverseReverseObverseReverse
1 soʻm Green and pink National emblem of Uzbekistan Alisher Navoi Opera and Ballet Theater in Tashkent 1994 1 July 1994 1 January 2021
3 soʻm Red Chashma-Ayub Mausoleum in Bukhara
5 soʻm Blue and orange National emblem of Uzbekistan and Islamic pattern Alisher Navoi Monument in Tashkent
10 soʻm Purple Gur-e Amir in Samarkand
25 soʻm Blue and pink Shah-i-Zinda Complex in Samarkand
50 soʻm Brown The three Madrasahs of the Registan in Samarkand 1 July 2019[8]
100 soʻm Purple Palace of Friendship of Peoples in Tashkent
200 soʻm Green National emblem of Uzbekistan Detail of a tiger mosaiс (Shir o Khorshid) on the Sherdor Madrasah at the Registan in Samarkand 1997 1 March 1997[9] 1 July 2020[8]
500 soʻm Red and some green Statue of Amir Temur (Tamerlane) in Tashkent 1999 1 June 2000[10]
1,000 soʻm Grey Amir Timur Museum in Tashkent 2001 1 September 2001[11] Current
5,000 soʻm Green National Assembly (Oliy Majlis) in Tashkent 2013 1 July 2013
10,000 soʻm Blue Senate (Senat) in Tashkent 2017 10 March 2017
50,000 soʻm Violet National emblem of Uzbekistan; top of the “Ezgulik” ark in Independence Square in Tashkent Palace of Conventions (Anjumanlar Saroyi) in Tashkent 22 August 2017
100,000 soʻm Orange and light brown National emblem of Uzbekistan; Mirzo Ulugbek; solar system Mirzo Ulugbek Observatory in Samarkand; map of Uzbekistan 2019 25 February 2019
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Exchange rates

At its introduction on 1 July 1994, 1 U.S. dollar was equal to 25 soʻm.

2017 reform

On 2 September 2017, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev issued a decree "On priority measures of liberalizing foreign exchange policy".[12] The reform took effect on 5 September 2017. The currency was untethered from its US dollar peg and started to float. As a result the soʻm's exchange rate to the US dollar increased from 4,210 Uzbek soʻm to 8,100 Uzbek soʻm. The new rate was even weaker than the soʻm's black-market convertibility of about 7,700 to the dollar. Restrictions on the amount of foreign currencies individuals and companies could buy were also abolished on the same day.[13]

Current UZS 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 XE.com: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD RUB CNY
From OANDA: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD RUB CNY
From fxtop.com: AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD RUB CNY

See also

  • Economy of Uzbekistan
  • Kyrgyzstani som

Notes

  1. "The Global History of Currencies - Russia". Archived from the original on 4 January 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  2. U.S. Department of State (February 1994). "Uzbekistan Economic Policy and Trade Practices". Archived from the original on 2010-07-10. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  3. Schuler, Kurt. "Tables of Modern Monetary History: Asia".
  4. Gray, Laura (26 February 2013). "The most worthless coin in the world". Retrieved 12 November 2017 via www.bbc.com.
  5. "Монеты". www.cbu.uz.
  6. "СО 2 ИЮЛЯ 2018 ГОДА ВВОДЯТСЯ НОВЫЕ МОНЕТЫ В 50, 100, 200 И 500 СУМОВ". www.norma.uz. 28 June 2018.
  7. "banknotes". Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  8. "Центральный банк Республики Узбекистан — Сообщение Центрального банка Республики Узбекистан" (in Russian). cbu.uz. Retrieved 2018-05-26.
  9. "Узбекскому суму исполнилось 20 лет" (in Russian). gazeta.uz. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  10. "Узбекскому суму исполнилось 20 лет" (in Russian). gazeta.uz. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  11. "Узбекскому суму исполнилось 20 лет" (in Russian). gazeta.uz. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  12. The Government portal of the Republic of Uzbekistan (2017-09-05). "Starting from 5 September 2017, the exchange rate of the Central Bank is set at 8100 UZS for 1 USD". Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  13. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (2017-09-05). "Uzbekistan Devalues Currency As It Emerges From Decades-Long Isolation". Retrieved 8 September 2017.

References

  • Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (2003). 2004 Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1901–Present. Colin R. Bruce II (senior editor) (31st ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873495934.
  • Cuhaj, George S. (editor) (2005). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: Modern Issues 1961-Date (11th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-89689-160-7.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
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