3 Tenge

Kazakhstan's first national coinage, issued in 1993, arrived just two years after independence following the Soviet collapse. The tenge itself launched on November 15, 1993 — a date still marked as National Currency Day — replacing the Soviet ruble at a rate of 500 rubles to one tenge, an exchange ceiling that wiped out much of the population's ruble savings overnight.

The copper-nickel composition was a deliberate choice for the fractional denominations, contrasting with the brass used for higher values in the inaugural series.