Bear (Aiy) 1 kg

AIÝ (the bear) is the seventh coin of the series, its design combining a naturalistic and a stencilled view of the animal depicted in the Saka style. In the description of the National Bank the bear is a symbol of strength, resilience and a deep connection with nature. The AIÝ coins were released on 17 December 2024: the silver coins with face values of 5,000 and 1,000 tenge are struck in proof quality with a diamond insert, the cupronickel coins with face values of 500 and 200 tenge in proof-like and brilliant uncirculated quality. The 1,000 tenge silver coins and the cupronickel coins went on sale through the online store of the National Bank with delivery by Kazpost, while the 5,000 tenge coins were sold with self-pickup.

The pictorial side shows the head of a bear: the heavy set, the small eyes and the characteristic profile of a beast that was met rarely in the steppe and the mountains but was remembered forever. The diamond insert is placed in the eye. As on the other coins of the series, the naturalistic part of the image is joined to a stencilled part picked out with gilding: one half of the head remains alive, the other turns into a mask-sign. In the upper part stands the inscription "AIÝ", around the perimeter a wide border with decorative elements. The massiveness of the silhouette and the absence of small detail serve the same meaning that the National Bank names directly: strength, resilience and a connection with nature.

Totems in primitive beliefs are animals that served as the object of the cult of a clan or tribe and were regarded as its forebears or guardians. According to historians, some Turkic leaders traced their descent to legendary ancestors born of a totem animal — in this way a clan legend turned a beast or a bird into the first ancestor of a whole people. For a nomad such kinship was not an abstract metaphor but a way of explaining where the clan came from and who answers for it before the sky: the totem is at once a relative and a protector. That is why the image of a totem animal on a coin is not decoration but a sign of protection, which the steppe tradition read without any explanation.

What all the coins of the series share is the union of a naturalistic and a stencilled view of the animal with an allegorical treatment in the Saka animal style: one part is shown as the animal, the other as a gilded mask with an element of mysticism. The illustrator is S. S. Maltsev. In the Saka tradition the figure of a beast is reduced to a sign: what matters is not fur or anatomy but silhouette, rhythm and repetition, so the naturalistic and the sign-like parts on one side read as two views of a single being — the living and the sacred.

The седьмая coin of the series appeared on 17 December 2024; this card covers the 925 sterling silver, 25 oz, proof quality.

The coins are struck at the Kazakhstan Mint and issued in several versions: silver coins in a souvenir pack with a numbered certificate of quality of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the state, Russian and English languages, cupronickel coins of proof-like quality in a souvenir pack, and cupronickel coins of brilliant uncirculated quality in special printed packaging. All the coins must be accepted at their face value throughout the Republic of Kazakhstan for all types of payments, as well as for crediting to bank accounts and for transfer, change and exchange in all banks of the country.

Obverse

A composition of a naturalistic and a stencilled image of a bear's head with a diamond insert; the inscription "AIÝ" is placed at the top. A wide border with decorative elements runs around the perimeter.

Reverse

Within a frame of national ornament — the year of minting, the denomination and the trademark of the Kazakhstan Mint; the silver coins also carry an inscription naming the metal, its purity and weight. Around the rim runs the legend "QAZAQSTAN RESPÝBLIKASY • REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN".