Camel (Tuie) proof-like

TÚIE (the camel) is the sixth coin of the series, its design combining a naturalistic and a stencilled view of the animal depicted in the Saka style. For the nomads the camel symbolised dignity and independence, strength and endurance: it was not only a reliable companion on the way but also a measure of the stamina that allowed people to cover great distances and withstand the harsh conditions of the steppe. The TÚIE coins were released by the National Bank on 27 December 2023: the silver coins with face values of 5,000 and 500 tenge are struck in proof quality with a diamond insert, the cupronickel coins with a face value of 200 tenge in proof-like and brilliant uncirculated quality.

The pictorial side shows the head of a camel: the long muzzle, the characteristic line of the neck and the calm carriage of the head familiar to anyone who has seen a caravan on the steppe. The diamond insert is placed in the eye — a device repeated throughout the series that turns the stone into the point of the totem animal's gaze. One part of the head is given naturalistically, the other is reduced to a stencil and picked out with gilding. In the upper part of the coin stands the inscription "TÚIE", around the perimeter a wide border with decorative elements. The calm silhouette, without sharp movement, matches the very meaning of the image: on the steppe the camel stands for endurance and dignity rather than swiftness.

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 шестая coin of the series appeared on 27 December 2023; this card covers the cupronickel, proof-like 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 camel's head; the inscription "TÚIE" 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".