Brief Historical Notes on Afghanistan

According to the CIA Website:

Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 Communist counter-coup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan Communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-Communist mujahedin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama BIN LADIN. The UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution, a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. In December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan and the National Assembly was inaugurated the following December. Despite gains toward building a stable central government, a resurgent Taliban and continuing provincial instability - particularly in the south and the east - remain serious challenges for the Afghan Government.

Afghani Gold Coins
Ahmed Shah issued Afghan gold coins from 1735. Until recently Afghan gold coins have been typical Islamic designs, without portraits, and with only inscriptions, which are mainly indecipherable to most Westerners.
In 1978, a gold 10,000 Afghani gold coin was issued as part of an international conservation collection, and this coin bore the legend "REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN - 1978".
In the same year, another coin of the same denomination was issued, again with a conservation theme, but with the legend "DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN - 1978".
Perhaps conservation promotes democracy?

Specifications
Technical specifications of the most frequently encountered Afghani gold coins.

Denomination	Diameter	Weight	Alloy	AGW
10,000 Aghanis, 1st	32.5	33.4370	0.9000	0.9676
10,000 Aghanis, 2nd	32.5	33.6600	0.9000	0.9739

Key
Diameter = Approximate Diameter in millimetres.
Weight = Weight in grams.
Alloy = Fineness of gold.
AGW = Actual fine gold weight in troy ounces.

Prices & Availability
The prices quoted in the US $ column may be out of date due to currency fluctuations.

Date	Denomination	Description	Mintage	Grade	Availability	Price £	Price $
1978	10,000 Afghanis	Conservation		Uncirculated	Wanted	Ask	Ask

Postage & Packing
UK Registered Post (Special Delivery) £9 per order
EU Insured Post £10 per order
USA Airmail $10 per order
USA Insured Shipping $20 per order

Afghani Silver and Base Metal Coins
For silver and base metal coins of Afghanistan, please look at our original Chard Coins website.

Coins Wanted
We make an active market in almost all world coins, gold or otherwise, including Afghani gold coins. If you have any of these coins to sell, please contact us, or post them to us for appraisal and offer.