Impossible to buy box of matches with 470 thousand rouble coin!
The National Bank’s memorable coin “Akhaltekin Horse” will only cost 20 roubels in a shop. And the National Bank will not even accept it back.
The National Bank announced the release of 5 memorable coins’ in the last days of 2011 – “Hedgehog”, “Hedgehogs”, “Arab dance” from the new series “Magic of dancing”, “Akhaltekin Horse” from the new series “Horses” and “Polatsk. Hanseatic League”. One more coin: “Belarus-China. 20 years of diplomatic relations” – was out on January 3.
However, you can only look at “Akhaltekin Horse” and “Hedgehogs” on the Internet. Belarus does not have a mint so metal money is circulated as soon as it is coined.
One ounce of silver weights a bit more than 31.1 grammes. Four out of the six new coins contains ounce of silver. But they cost more than 50 dollars. For example, “Belarus-China. 20 years of diplomatic relations” costs 470 thousand roubles.
The situation is rather strange: unlike bars, the National Bank does not accept memorable coins back.
But they are a legal means of payment in Belarus. However, the shops accept them... at their nominal cost!
That is why you cannot buy even a box of matches with “Akhaltekin Horse”! Collectors exchange and sell them on special forums and at Internet auctions.
