Code UZS Plural so'm | 1/100 Tiyin Tiyin | |
 | ||
Banknotes 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000 so'm Coins 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500 so'm | ||
The so'm (Uzbek: soʻm in Latin script, сўм in Cyrillic script) is the currency of Uzbekistan in Central Asia. The ISO 4217 currency code is UZS.
Contents
Etymology
In the Soviet Union, speakers of Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Uzbek called the ruble the som, and this name appeared written on the back of banknotes, among the texts for the value of the bill in all 15 official languages of the Union. The word som (sometimes transliterated "sum" or "soum") means "pure" in Kyrgyz, Uyghur and Uzbek, as well as in many other Turkic languages. The word implies "pure gold".
First so'm
Like other republics of the former Soviet Union, Uzbekistan continued using the Soviet/Russian ruble after independence. On July 26, 1993, a new series of Russian ruble was issued and the old Soviet/Russian ruble ceased to be legal tender in Russia. Some successor states had their national currencies before the change, some chose to continue using the pre-1993 Soviet/Russian ruble, and some chose to use both the pre-1993 and the new Russian ruble. Tables of modern monetary history: Asia implies that both old and new rubles were used in Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan replaced the ruble with so'm at par in on November 15, 1993. No subdivisions of this som were issued and only banknotes were produced, in denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 5000, and 10,000 so'm. Because it was meant to be a transitional currency, the design was rather simplistic. All notes had the Coat of arms on obverse, and Sher-Dor Madrasah of the Registan in Samarkand on reverse.
Second so'm
On July 1, 1994, a second som was introduced at a rate of 1 new so'm = 1000 old so'm. This so'm is subdivided into 100 tiyin. At its introduction, 1 U.S. dollar was equal to 25 so'm.
Inflation
As of July 2016, the largest denomination of Uzbek currency, the 5000 so'm banknote, is worth approximately U.S. $1.70, requiring Uzbeks to carry enormous amounts of notes just to carry out grocery shopping and bill payment. Consequently, the smallest denomination, the 1 tiyin, is only worth 1/2900 cent U.S. making it the "world's most worthless coin". However, coins and banknotes smaller than 25 so'm are rare now.
The rampant inflation situation is considered a politically sensitive issue in Uzbekistan, which is why the Uzbek government is slow to acclimate the currency to the current value by issuing higher coin and note denominations. As a result, the current highest coin denomination in circulation is the 500 so'm while the highest banknote denomination is the 10,000 so'm. Official state figures put inflation as of the first half of 2011 at 3.6%, however accurate numbers are pinned far higher. Coins and banknotes below 25 so'm are practically worthless now.
Coins
2 series of coins have been issued for the second so'm. They can be easily distinguished by the script used for the Uzbek language. The first series was written in Cyrillic script, while the second series is written in Latin script.