1000 Tögrög Panthera

Issued as part of Mongolia's wildlife conservation series at the turn of the millennium, this gold piece was produced through the State Mint of Mongolia during a period when the Bank of Mongolia was actively expanding its commemorative program into international collector markets. The .583 fineness — 14-karat gold — was a deliberate choice to keep production costs accessible while still qualifying as a gold issue, a common approach among smaller national mints targeting mid-range collectors rather than bullion buyers.

The snow leopard (*Panthera uncia*) depicted is native to the Altai mountain range of western Mongolia, where population surveys in the late 1990s estimated fewer than 1,000 individuals remained in the country.