As some of you know, I have a topical set of coins which bear the image(s) of horses. This weekend I was organizing all of my raw horse coins into an album and transferring them from old 2x2 cardboard flips to more long term SaFlip holders. Long story short, I came across this coin which I had forgotten I had purchased. I can't read any of the text on the coin besides the "Kazakhstan" and "50 Tenge" words, so if anyone can help out with a translation that would be great. I had originally purchased the coin for the two horses with riders, but upon greater inspection I also noticed today that the other side of the coin also has 2 horses (winged Pegasus type horses) within the detailed scroll work (see picture below). A happy surprise. Thanks a bunch, -Brandon
Reverse says "Kazakhstan Republic" in Russian and Kazakh. As you already know it also says 50 Tenge. Obverse says "Kiz Kuu", which is the name of a national game involving horse riders, translated as "Catch the girl". In short, pairs of boys and girls are competing and trying to catch each other. When boy catches girl, he can kiss her, when girl catches boy, she hits him with a horsewhip/knout. Competition area is 400-500m long. Not the most intellectual game, but supposed to be quite a show as horses and players come in special festive clothes and there is a cheering crowd.
