Notes: Flea Market Finds

Flea market finds ✨
Five world banknotes, five countries, five stories.
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan – 200 Som (1997 issue)

This is from Uzbekistan’s early post-Soviet period, when the country was still defining its monetary identity after independence (1991).

Why it’s interesting

• Transitional design language: Soviet engraving discipline + new national symbols
• Short-lived low-denomination era before inflation kicked in
• Visually elegant, very “1990s Central Asia”

🇲🇷 Mauritania – 1,000 Ouguiya (Banque Centrale de Mauritanie)

Mauritania uses one of the world’s non-decimal currencies, which already gives it collector brownie points.

Why it’s interesting

• Arabic-only design aesthetics
• Symbolic imagery tied to agriculture and tradition
• From the pre-redenomination Ouguiya era (before 2018 split)

🇸🇾 Syria – 500 Syrian Pounds

historical punch.

Why it’s interesting

• Issued before the full economic collapse
• Features ancient Mesopotamian cultural imagery
• Increasingly hard to find clean due to prolonged instability

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🇬🇾 Guyana – 20 Dollars (Ship / Kaieteur Falls types)

Classic Commonwealth-era engraving vibes.

Why it’s interesting

• Industrial + natural heritage themes
• Two-sided storytelling (ship / waterfall)
• Popular among Caribbean & ex-British colony collectors

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🇿🇦 Zaire – 5 Zaires (1977) – Mobutu Era

Mobutu Sese Seko, monetary chaos, and dramatic design.

Why it’s interesting

• Mobutu portrait + African wildlife motifs
• A favorite among collectors of failed currencies

Till next time, adios.