500 Manat Heydar Aliyev 90

Issued to mark the 90th birth anniversary of Heydar Aliyev, the Soviet-era KGB chief who became founding father of independent Azerbaijan and ruled the country from 1993 until his death in 2003. His son Ilham succeeded him directly, making Azerbaijan one of the few post-Soviet states to pass executive power within a single family. A coin of this weight in .999 fine gold is unambiguously a state prestige object — roughly ten troy ounces, priced well above any collector premium at melt alone. Mintage figures for this type were not widely published by the Central Bank.