From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Armenian dram

Currency of Armenia

Field	Value
local_name	հայկական դրամ
local_name_lang	hy
image_1	1000 dram 2018 Obverse.jpg
no_plural	The name of this currency does not have a morphological plural form in the currency’s official language.
iso_code	AMD
date_of_introduction	22 November 1993
replaced_currency	Soviet rouble (SUR)
using_countries	Armenia
unofficial_users	Georgia: Javakheti (Javakhk) region (de facto until c. 2005)
inflation_rate	-0.6%
inflation_source_date	https://www.cba.am/en/sitepages/default.aspx, December 2023
subunit_ratio_1
subunit_name_1	luma (լումա)
symbol	֏
frequently_used_coins	֏10, ֏20, ֏50, ֏100, ֏200, ֏500
rarely_used_coins	10, 20, 50 luma, ֏1, ֏3, ֏5
frequently_used_banknotes	֏1,000, ֏2,000, ֏5,000, ֏10,000, ֏20,000, ֏50,000
rarely_used_banknotes	֏100,000
issuing_authority	Central Bank of Armenia
issuing_authority_website	cba.am

The Armenian dram (; sign: ֏; abbreviation: դր.; ISO code: AMD) is the currency of Armenia. It was historically subdivided into 100 luma (լումա). The Central Bank of Armenia is responsible for issuance and circulation of dram banknotes and coins, as well as implementing the monetary policy of Armenia.

The word dram means "money" and is cognate with the Greek drachma and the Arabic dirham, as well as the English weight unit dram.

History

The first instance of a "dram" currency was in the period from 1199 to 1375, when silver coins called dram or tram were issued. Dram or Takvorin coinage would periodically continue to be produced for some time until the loss of Armenia's independence. The establishment of Russian Armenia saw the adoption of the Imperial ruble, followed by a series of attempts to localize the Russian ruble under the Soviet Union and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). On 21 September 1991, a national referendum proclaimed Armenia as a republic independent from the Soviet Union. The Central Bank of Armenia, established on 27 March 1993, was given the exclusive right of issuing the national currency.

In the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union attempts were made to maintain a common currency (the Russian rouble) among CIS states. Armenia joined this rouble zone. However it soon became clear that maintaining a currency union in the unstable political and economical circumstances of the post-Soviet states would be very difficult. The Rouble Zone effectively collapsed with the unilateral 1993 Russian monetary reform process. As a result, the remaining CIS participants – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Moldova, Armenia and Georgia – were 'pushed out' and forced to introduce separate currencies. Armenia was one of the last countries to do so when it introduced the dram on 22 November 1993.

Armenian dram sign

Main article: Armenian dram sign

As the result of common business practice and the unique pattern of Armenian letters, the shape of the sign and its variations appeared in the business scratches (daybooks). Until the official endorsement of the sign a number of artists and businessmen developed and offered various shapes for it. Now the dram symbol is included in the Armenian standard for the national characters and symbols and in the Armenian computer fonts. The current standard sign for the Armenian dram (֏, image: ; ; code: AMD) was designed in 1995. In Unicode, it is encoded at .

Coins

In 1994, a first series of aluminium coins was introduced in denominations of 10, 20, and 50 luma, 1, 3, 5, and 10 drams. In 2003 and 2004, a second series consisting of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 dram coins was introduced to replace the first series.

The Central Bank has also issued a great number of commemorative coins intended for sale to collectors. A listing can be found at the authorized central bank distributors.

First series (1994–2002)

In 1994, a first series of aluminium coins was introduced in denominations of 10, 20, and 50 luma, 1, 3, 5, and 10 drams. The other coins are officially in circulation but rarely used because of their low nominal value.

First series (1994)	Image	Value	Technical parameters	Description	Obverse	Reverse	Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge
[[File:AM 1994 averse.png	40px]]	[[File:AM 1994 10 luma.png	40px]]	10 luma	16 mm	0.6 g	Aluminium	Smooth	Armenian coat of arms	Value, year of minting
[[File:AM 1994 averse.png	45px]]	[[File:AM 1994 20 luma.png	45px]]	20 luma	18 mm	0.75 g
[[File:AM 1994 averse.png	50px]]	[[File:AM 1994 50 luma.png	50px]]	50 luma	20 mm	0.95 g
[[File:AM 1994 averse.png	55px]]	[[File:AM 1994 1 dram.png	55px]]	֏1	22 mm	1.4 g	Reeded
[[File:AM 1994 averse.png	60px]]	[[File:AM 1994 3 dram.png	60px]]	֏3	24 mm	1.65 g
[[File:AM 1994 averse.png	65px]]	[[File:AM 1994 5 dram.png	65px]]	֏5	26 mm	2 g	Smooth
[[File:AM 1994 averse.png	70px]]	[[File:AM 1994 10 dram.png	70px]]	֏10	28 mm	2.3 g

All coins bear the year of the first issue (1994).

Second series (2003–present)

In 2003 and 2004, a new series of coins was introduced in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 drams.

Second series (2003-2004)	Image	Value	Technical parameters	Description	Obverse	Reverse	Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge
[[File:AM 2004 10 dram a.png	50px]]	[[File:AM 2004 10 dram r.png	50px]]	֏10	20 mm	1.3 g	Aluminium	Reeded	Armenian coat of arms	Value, ornaments,
year of minting
[[File:AM 2003 20 dram a.png	51px]]	[[File:AM 2003 20 dram r.png	51px]]	֏20	20.5 mm	2.75 g	Copper-plated Steel	Smooth
[[File:AM 2003 50 dram a.png	54px]]	[[File:AM 2003 50 dram r.png	54px]]	֏50	21.5 mm	3.45 g	Brass-plated steel	Reeded
[[File:AM 2003 100 dram a.png	56px]]	[[File:AM 2003 100 dram r.png	56px]]	֏100	22.5 mm	4 g	Nickel-plated Steel
[[File:AM 2003 200 dram a.png	60px]]	[[File:AM 2003 200 dram r.png	60px]]	֏200	24 mm	4.5 g	Brass
[[File:AM 2003 500 dram a.png	55px]]	[[File:AM 2003 500 dram r.png	55px]]	֏500	22 mm	5 g	Bi-Metallic Copper-nickel center in Brass ring	Segmented reeding

All coins bear the year of the first issue (2003 or 2004).

Banknotes

A first series of banknotes was issued in November 1993. It was withdrawn from circulation by 2005. A second series was issued from 1998 onwards which is still in use at present.

First series (1993–1998)

On 22 November 1993, banknotes of 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 500 drams were issued. Notes for ֏1,000 and ֏5,000 were put into circulation later.

First series (1993–1998)	Image	Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description	Obverse	Reverse	Obverse
[[File:10 Armenian dram - 1993 (obverse).png	88px]]	[[File:10 Armenian dram - 1993 (reverse).png	88px]]	֏10	125 x 62 mm	Brown and purple	Yerevan Train Station and David of Sasun statue	Mount Ararat
[[File:25 Armenian dram - 1993 (obverse).png	88px]]	[[File:25 Armenian dram - 1993 (reverse).png	88px]]	֏25	Yellow, brown and blue	Urartian cuneiform tablet and a lion relief from Erebuni fortress	Ornaments
[[File:50 Armenian dram - 1993 (obverse).png	88px]]	[[File:50 Armenian dram - 1993 (reverse).png	88px]]	֏50	Blue and red	National Gallery and History Museum of Armenia	Armenian parliament building
[[File:100 Armenian dram - 1993 (obverse).png	88px]]	[[File:100 Armenian dram - 1993 (reverse).png	88px]]	֏100	Blue, purple and red	Mount Ararat and Zvartnots Cathedral	Yerevan Opera Theatre
[[File:200 Armenian dram - 1993 (obverse).png	95px]]	[[File:200 Armenian dram - 1993 (reverse).png	95px]]	֏200	135 x 62 mm	Brown, green, yellow and red	Saint Hripsime Church in Echmiadzin	Ornaments
[[File:500 Armenian dram - 1993 (obverse).png	95px]]	[[File:500 Armenian dram - 1993 (reverse).png	95px]]	֏500	Green, brown and blue	Mount Ararat and a Tigranes the Great tetradrachm
[[File:1000 Armenian dram - 1994 (obverse).png	102px]]	[[File:1000 Armenian dram - 1994 (reverse).png	102px]]	֏1,000	145 x 68 mm	Brown and orange	Mesrop Mashtots statue and Matenadaran	7th century obelisk monument in Aghitu Memorial
[[File:5000 Armenian dram - 1995 (obverse).png	102px]]	[[File:5000 Armenian dram - 1995 (reverse).png	102px]]	֏5,000	145 x 71 mm	Green, yellow and purple	Temple of Garni	Bronze head of goddess Anahit (Satala Aphrodite) kept in the British Museum

Second series (1998–2017)

Banknotes of ֏50, ֏100, and ֏500 are rarely seen in circulation. Coins of ֏50, ֏100, and ֏500 are used instead.

A commemorative ֏50,000 note was issued on 4 June 2001 in commemoration of the 1,700th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity in Armenia.

Second series (1998–2017)	Image	Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description	Obverse	Reverse	Obverse
[[Image:50 Armenian dram - 1998 (obverse).png	85px]]	[[Image:50 Armenian dram - 1998 (reverse).png	85px]]	֏50	122 x 65 mm	Pink, blue and grey	Aram Khachaturian (1903–1978) and Armenian Opera Theater	A scene from the ballet Gayane by Khachaturian, and Mount Ararat
[[Image:100 Armenian dram - 1998 (obverse).png	85px]]	[[Image:100 Armenian dram - 1998 (reverse).png	85px]]	֏100	Blue and grey	Viktor Hambardzumyan (1908–1996)	Byurakan Observatory
[[Image:500 Armenian dram - 1999 (obverse).png	90px]]	[[Image:500 Armenian dram - 1999 (reverse).png	90px]]	֏500	129 x 72 mm	Grey	Alexander Tamanian (1878–1936)	Government House in Yerevan designed by Alexander Tamanyan
[[Image:1,000 Armenian dram - 1999 (obverse).png	95px]]	[[Image:1,000 Armenian dram - 1999 (reverse).png	95px]]	֏1,000	136 x 72 mm	Green and pink	Yeghishe Charents (1897–1937)	An image of old Yerevan depicting the government building of the First Republic
[[Image:5,000 Armenian dram - 1999 (obverse).png	100px]]	[[Image:5,000 Armenian dram - 1999 (reverse).png	100px]]	֏5,000	143 x 72 mm	Yellow and green	Hovhannes Tumanyan (1869–1923)	Nature scene from Lori, from one of Martiros Saryan's paintings
[[Image:10,000 Armenian dram - 2003 (obverse).png	105px]]	[[Image:10,000 Armenian dram - 2003 (reverse).png	105px]]	֏10,000	150 x 72 mm	Purple	Avetik Isahakyan (1875–1957)	An image of old Gyumri
[[Image:20,000 Armenian dram - 1999 (obverse).png	109px]]	[[Image:20,000 Armenian dram - 1999 (reverse).png	109px]]	֏20,000	155 x 72 mm	Yellow, red and brown	Martiros Saryan (1880–1972)	Detail from an Armenian landscape by Martiros Saryan
[[Image:50,000 Armenian dram - 2001 (obverse).png	112px]]	[[Image:50,000 Armenian dram - 2001 (reverse).png	112px]]	֏50,000	160 x 79 mm	Brown and red	Etchmiadzin Cathedral	St. Gregory the Illuminator and king Tiridates the Great holding a symbol representing the Armenian Church; on the right, a khachkar from Kecharis Monastery.
[[Image:100,000 Armenian dram - 2009 (obverse).jpg	112px]]	[[Image:100,000 Armenian dram - 2009 (reverse).jpg	112px]]	֏100,000	160 x 72 mm	Blue	Abgar V of Edessa	Abgar V of Edessa receiving the mandylion from St. Thaddeus (not pictured).

500 dram commemorative note (2017)

A 500 dram commemorative note was issued on 22 November 2017 to commemorate both the story of Noah's Ark and the 25th anniversary of Armenia's national currency.

commemorative note (2017)	Image	Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description	Obverse	Reverse	Obverse	Reverse
[[Image:500 Armenian dram - 2017 (obverse).png	98px]]	[[Image:500 Armenian dram - 2017 (reverse).png	98px]]	֏500	140 × 76 mm	Brown and grey	Reliquary containing a fragment of Noah's Ark (left); etching by Friedrich Parrot of Etchmiadzin Cathedral with Mount Ararat in the background	Etching by Jacob Carolsfeld of Noah, his family members and animals against the background of Mount Ararat

Third series (2018–present)

A third series of Armenian dram banknotes was issued in 2018, All denominations for this series are the same as its previous issues, with the 2,000 dram banknote as a newly introduced denomination, the 50,000 dram banknote re-issued for this series and the omission of the 50, 100, 500, and 100,000 dram banknotes for this issue. The new series are printed on hybrid substrates of Louisenthal.

The first three denominations, ֏10,000, ֏20,000 and ֏50,000, were issued on November 22, 2018 to mark 25 years of Armenian currency. The final three denominations, ֏1,000, ֏2,000 and ֏5,000 were issued on December 25, 2018.

Third series (2018–present)	Image	Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description	Obverse	Reverse	Obverse
[[File:1000 dram 2018 Obverse.jpg	91px]]	[[File:1000 dram 2018 Reverse.jpg	91px]]	֏1,000	130 × 72 mm	Violet	Paruyr Sevak (1924–1971), poems	Paryur Sevak house (museum), Zangakatun; statue of Sevak
[[File:2000 dram 2018 Obverse.jpg	95px]]	[[File:2000 dram 2018 Reverse.jpg	95px]]	֏2,000	135 × 72 mm	Brown	Tigran Petrosian (1929–1984), chessboard	Tigran Petrosian Chess House (Yerevan), statue of Petrosyan
[[File:5000 dram 2018 Obverse.jpg	98px]]	[[File:5000 dram 2018 Reverse.jpg	98px]]	֏5,000	140 × 72 mm	Red	William Saroyan (1908–1981), covers from Saroyan's books, mountain	Statue of Saroyan (Yerevan)
[[File:10000 dram 2018 Obverse.jpg	102px]]	[[File:10000 dram 2018 Reverse.jpg	102px]]	֏10,000	145 × 72 mm	Gray-purple	Komitas (1869–1935)	Gevorgian Seminary and statue of Komitas, Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin)
[[File:20000 dram 2018 Obverse.jpg	105px]]	[[File:20000 dram 2018 Reverse.jpg	105px]]	֏20,000	150 × 72 mm	Green	Ivan Aivazovsky (1817–1900)	Aivazovsky National Art Gallery Museum and statue of Aivazovskiy, Feodosia (Crimea)
[[File:50000 dram 2018 Obverse.jpg	109px]]	[[File:50000 dram 2018 Reverse.jpg	109px]]	֏50,000	155 × 72 mm	Gold	Saint Gregory the Illuminator (257–331), manuscripts telling the life of St. Gregory, images of the dome of the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin and the winged cross	Khor Virap monastery (Chapel of St. Gregory), Ararat Plain, tombstone of St. Gregory the Illuminator (Etchmiadzin), statue of St. Gregory the Illuminator

Exchange rates

The modern dram came into effect on 22 November 1993, at a rate of Rbls 200 = 1 dram (US$1 = 404 drams).

References

(January 2019). "A conflict that did not happen: revisiting the Javakhk affair in Georgia". [[Nations and Nationalism (journal).
(2009). "The Closure of the Russian Military Base at Akhalkalaki: Challenges for the Local Energy Elite, the Informal Economy and Stability". The Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies.
(March 7, 2002). "JAVAKHETI–ANOTHER PROBLEM AREA IN GEORGIA?". [[Jamestown Foundation]].
Smbat Minasyan, ''Armenian Coins – History of Armenian coinage – Ancient, Medieval, Modern'', [https://armenian-history.com/Armenian_coins.htm Armenian History]
Pomfret, Richard. (2002-12-01). "The IMF and the Ruble Zone". Comparative Economic Studies.
"Bank notes and coins".
"ЮБИЛЕЙНЫЕ МОНЕТЫ АРМЕНИИ".
(2013-02-25). "The coin worth less than any other in the world". BBC News.
Armenian Central Bank. www.cba.am
"National Currency".
"20 Lumas".
"Coins in Circulation - 50 luma".
"Coins in Circulation - 1 dram".
"Coins in circulation - 3 dram".
"Coins in circulation - 5 dram".
"Coins in circulation - 10 dram".
"Coins in circulation - 10 dram".
"Coins in circulation - 20 dram".
"Coins in circulation - 50 dram".
"Cons in circulation - 100 dram".
"Coins in circulation - 200 dram".
"Coins in circulation - 500 dram".
"Central Bank of Armenia". cba.am.
(2009-08-24). "Բիզնես 24 - Հայկական Բիզնես Օրաթերթ, 24/08/09". B24.am.
(2017-11-27). "Arguments in Armenia over new banknote design". JAMnews.
(23 November 2018). "Armenia starts new series with Hybrid banknote".

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

economy-of-armenia currencies-introduced-in-1993 currencies-of-armenia currencies-of-asia circulating-currencies currencies-of-europe

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Armenian dram — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report