In numismatics, varieties are an important element in collections. Whether it's banknotes or coins, plate making often takes precedence over the printing and die-casting process. Every year, a different variety is produced and used, or a new version is issued with anti-counterfeiting measures. For collectors, it is a pleasure to collect different varieties of coins and look for small differences.
However, for banknote collections, many central banks are Xi not marking the year and variety, and even a variety may be used for many years, which is more common on banknotes. In my familiar coin collection, the year of mint is often displayed as the main design element due to issuance requirements and minting Xi, so it is not difficult to find the year and variety on a coin.
But is there a yearless version on the coin?The answer is yes, and that is the Azerbaijani manat.
In 2006, in order to put an end to the problems of inflation and low denominations of the currency left over from the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan decided to issue new manats, which had an exchange rate of 1:5000 for the old and new manats. Located in the southeast of the Caucasus and rich in oil and gas, it is absolutely impossible for the manat to become a "poor" currency.
For example, Manat was initially issued at a ratio of 1:1 to the US dollar28 exchange rates.
Think about it, in this practice, apart from the Bahraini dinar and the Kuwaiti dinar, before February 2015, the only currency unit that was worth more than the US dollar was probably the pound sterling.
In addition, we usually divide currencies into coinage and paper money, where coinage can be further subdivided into main coins and auxiliary coins, because small coins below the main coin are usually made of metal materials.
However, with the price of goods**, large denominations like £2, HK$10, €2 are becoming more common. However, in numismatics, Azerbaijan has always insisted on a clear distinction between the main currency and the secondary currency. For example, the largest denomination of the manat is still 50 kapics (0.).5 mint).
Of course, as mentioned earlier, the Azerbaijani manat also has a living fossil-like feature, which is that it is the only circulating coin without an era name.
In 2006, Azerbaijan introduced a new set of manat circulating coins, a set of six coins in kapik denominations. Either obverse or reverse, there is no trace of the vintage variety anywhere.
You could say it was an oversight, or you could say it was a Manat feature. It wasn't until 15 years later that the hole was filled.
On December 8, 2021, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan in Baku announced the issuance of circulating coins with a face value of 20 kapics. The biggest difference of the new coin is the addition of the number "2021" and the coat of arms of Azerbaijan. Of course, in terms of design, material, weight and diameter, the old and new coins remain the same. Subsequently, Azerbaijan updated the 2021 edition of coins with 50 and 10 kapik denominations.
It is worth mentioning that during the three years that I had passed through difficulties and isolation, waiting for this set of coins to arrive in my hand from Azerbaijan became the motivation for me to persevere.
On October 2, 2023, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan announced the issuance of circulating coins with a face value of 5 kapics. Due to inflation levels and circulation demand, this small copper coin will be the smallest and final coin in this update.
While there are still many coins in circulation in 2023, given the uncertainties surrounding the release and transportation, this small copper coin could be the end of my 2023 new coin collection.
2023 New Coins].
Material: copper-plated steel.
Diameter: 1975 mm.
Weight: 485 grams.
Thickness: 2 mm.