100000 Uzbekistani Som Banknote (Ulugbek Observatory)

100,000 So’m Som (Issued 2019)

By 2019, Uzbekistan’s financial system had undergone a period of significant transformation following the sweeping economic reforms introduced after 2016, which opened the country’s banking sector and liberalised the currency market. The Central Bank of Uzbekistan, known in Uzbek as the O’zbekiston Respublikasi Markaziy Banki, had been working to modernise monetary policy, stabilise the som, and restore confidence in the national currency after years of parallel exchange rate distortions. The introduction of the 100,000 som denomination — the highest-value banknote in circulation at the time of issue — reflected the practical need to accommodate higher-value transactions as the economy expanded and consumer prices adjusted following liberalisation. This note represented a landmark in Uzbek monetary history, marking the first time the country’s banknote series had reached six figures.

On the front, the dominant feature is a detailed engraved portrait of Mirzo Ulugbek, the fifteenth-century Timurid astronomer, mathematician, and ruler of Samarkand, rendered in a rich brown and grey engraving style that gives the figure considerable sculptural depth. Ulugbek is depicted seated in a formal pose, wearing a traditional turban and robes, holding what appears to be an astronomical instrument or book, emphasising his scholarly legacy. A small caption in Latin script reading “Mirzo Ulug’bek haykali” appears beneath the portrait, identifying the image as a statue of the famous polymath. To the left of the portrait, a geometric pattern in pale blue and teal features vertical lines and rectangular forms suggesting an architectural or decorative Uzbek motif. The central and right portions of the note are dominated by a striking holographic or optically variable security element depicting a stylised orbital or atomic structure rendered in blue, purple, and silver iridescent tones, incorporating circular arcs and a central starburst point that shifts in appearance with the viewing angle. The serial number AJ0487601 appears twice on the note — once in the lower left in dark green and once in the lower right in red — forming a dual-serial-number security arrangement. The denomination “100000” appears in large numerals in the upper left corner and again in bold red numerals in the lower right. The central lower portion of the note carries the text “BIR YUZ MING SO’M” in large blue serif lettering, which is the denomination written in Uzbek. The issuing authority name, “O’ZBEKISTON RESPUBLIKASI MARKAZIY BANKI”, is printed in the upper right in dark blue capitalised text, accompanied by the national emblem of Uzbekistan — a circular coat of arms featuring a rising sun, wheat sheaves, and a cotton boll — positioned to the far right. The overall background of the note is rendered in warm gold and amber tones with an intricate repeating guilloché pattern, incorporating fine Islamic geometric latticework across the borders and lower register. A legal inscription in Latin script runs along the very bottom edge of the note, stating that the currency must be accepted for all payments across the territory of Uzbekistan.

The reverse presents a finely detailed engraved depiction of the portal of the Mirzo Ulugbek Madrasasi — the Ulugbek Madrasa in Samarkand — rendered in warm golden-brown ink with meticulous attention to the ornate tilework, arched entrance, and decorative geometric and floral patterning that characterises Timurid Islamic architecture. The façade is depicted with fine line engraving that captures the depth of the recessed portal and the intricate majolica tilework across the pishtaq arch. To the right of the madrasa image sits an engraved representation of what appears to be an astronomical sextant or quadrant instrument, drawn with technical precision and associated with Ulugbek’s famous observatory, which once stood near Samarkand. A faint map outline, likely representing the territory of Uzbekistan or the broader Central Asian region, appears as a watermark-like ghost image behind the central design in pale tones. The year “2019” appears in the upper left area in red numerals. A stylised holographic or optically variable security logo in deep red and pink tones is positioned in the upper central area of the reverse. The denomination “100000 BIR YUZ MING SO’M” is printed prominently in the lower portion of the note in bold blue and brown lettering, consistent with the obverse typography. The issuing bank name, “O’ZBEKISTON RESPUBLIKASI MARKAZIY BANKI”, is again printed in the upper portion in dark blue capitalised text. A caption in Latin script reading “Mirzo Ulug’bek rasadxonasi” appears beneath the madrasa image, identifying the depicted monument. The border design continues the Islamic geometric guilloché pattern in gold tones, and a further legal inscription in Latin script appears along the bottom edge. A serial number in pale green is partially visible along the lower left edge.

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Other Uzbekistani Som you can exchange: 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, 20000, 50000, 200000.