1 Tenge

Kazakhstan's inaugural banknote series, introduced in November 1993, replaced the Soviet ruble almost overnight — the government kept the transition secret until the last moment to prevent capital flight and ruble dumping across the border. Citizens had three days to exchange their rubles at controlled rates.

Harrison & Sons, then still operating out of High Wycombe, printed the entire inaugural tenge series. The 1 Tenge is the lowest denomination of that founding issue, and given the inflation that followed through the mid-1990s, it fell out of practical use quickly.