The set continues with a bit of an outlier, Afghanistan. This was never a Soviet republic but was a country that had a communist revolution in 1978 and was the site of a long proxy war throughout most of the 1980s. This particular coin from 1995 celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations (many countries issued such coins). The obverse has a meditating man with three doves while the reverse features the emblem of the Islamic State of Afghanistan (used from 1992 to 2002, although the government went into exile when the Taliban took control in 1996). Country Afghanistan Denomination 500 Afghanis Year 1995 Subject 50th Anniversary of the United Nations Composition Silver 0.925 Weight (gr) 28.28 Diameter (mm) 38.61 Mintage not certain (some sources have it at 100,000) Mint Royal Mint
Nice black-and-white DCAM. I like the design and what it stands for. I do not believe I've owned any coins from Afghanistan, at least not of the modern nation.
Thanks! This is the first coin from Afghanistan I've owned. My ex-Soviet set has a goal of graded, silver, and post 1991, so this one fit perfectly. It was also the first I've seen slabbed for a reasonable amount (it would just make it into the under $50 thread).
What made you decide to do the post-Soviet set? I guess the breakup onto all sorts of exotic “-stans” is an interesting enough reason. I’m pretty decent at geography (99% courtesy of numismatics and playing Risk, and only 1% because of school), but I doubt I could name half of the “-stans” off the top of my head, or pin them down closely on a map. I should get a -stan or two.
I started with Kazakhstan because they have a cool space series (bimetallic coins made of tantalum and silver), then found a coin from Kyrgyzstan that I liked (several actually ). That gave me the idea to expand to a full post-Soviet set. I have made decent progress although a few are proving to be difficult. Link to space series: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/kazakhstan-silver-tantalum-space-series.366359/