Armenian dram

For other monetary units, see Currency of Armenia.

The Armenian dram (Armenian: դրամ; sign: ֏; abbreviation: դր.; ISO code: AMD) is the currency of the Republic 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.

Armenian dram

Հայկական Դրամ (Armenian)
֏100,000 banknote, the highest denominated banknote in circulation.
ISO 4217
Code	AMD (numeric: 051)
Subunit	0.01
Unit
Plural	The language(s) of this currency do(es) not have a morphological plural distinction.
Symbol	֏‎
Denominations
Subunit
1⁄100	luma (լումա)
Banknotes
Freq. used	֏1,000, ֏2,000, ֏5,000, ֏10,000, ֏20,000, ֏50,000
Rarely used	֏50, ֏100, ֏500, ֏100,000
Coins
Freq. used	֏10, ֏20, ֏50, ֏100, ֏200, ֏500
Rarely used	10, 20, 50 luma, ֏1, ֏3, ֏5
Demographics
Date of introduction	22 November 1993
Replaced	Soviet rouble (SUR)
Official user(s)	Armenia
Unofficial user(s)	Georgia: Javakheti (Javakhk) region (de facto until c. 2005)^[1]^[2]^[3]
Issuance
Central bank	Central Bank of Armenia
Website	www.cba.am
Valuation
Inflation	2.7% (Armenia only)
Source	[1], January 2018

Look up դրամ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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.^[4] 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.^[5]

Armenian dram sign

Main article: Armenian dram sign

 

The 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:  ; Armenian: Դրամ; code: AMD) was designed in 1995. In Unicode, it is encoded at U+058F ֏ ARMENIAN DRAM SIGN.

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.^[6][7]

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.^[8][9]

First series (1994)
Image		Value	Technical parameters			Description
Obverse	Reverse		Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse
		10 luma^[10]	16 mm	0.6 g	Aluminium	Smooth	Armenian coat of arms	Value, year of minting
		20 luma^[11]	18 mm	0.75 g
		50 luma^[12]	20 mm	0.95 g
		֏1^[13]	22 mm	1.4 g		Reeded
		֏3^[14]	24 mm	1.65 g
		֏5^[15]	26 mm	2 g		Smooth
		֏10^[16]	28 mm	2.3 g
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table.

• 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	Obverse	Reverse
		֏10^[17]	20 mm	1.3 g	Aluminium	Reeded	Armenian coat of arms	Value, ornaments, year of minting
		֏20^[18]	20.5 mm	2.75 g	Copper-plated Steel	Smooth
		֏50^[19]	21.5 mm	3.45 g	Brass-plated steel	Reeded
		֏100^[20]	22.5 mm	4 g	Nickel-plated Steel
		֏200^[21]	24 mm	4.5 g	Brass
		֏500^[22]	22 mm	5 g	Bi-Metallic Copper-nickel center in Brass ring	Segmented reeding
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table.

• 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.^[23] 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	Reverse
		֏10	125 x 62 mm	Brown and purple	Yerevan Train Station and David of Sasun statue	Mount Ararat
		֏25		Yellow, brown and blue	Urartian cuneiform tablet and a lion relief from Erebuni fortress	Ornaments
		֏50		Blue and red	National Gallery and History Museum of Armenia	Armenian parliament building
		֏100		Blue, purple and red	Mount Ararat and Zvartnots Cathedral	Yerevan Opera Theatre
		֏200	135 x 62 mm	Brown,green, yellow and red	Saint Hripsime Church in Echmiadzin	Ornaments
		֏500		Green, brown and blue	Mount Ararat and a Tigranes the Great tetradrachm
		֏1,000	145 x 68 mm	Brown and orange	Mesrop Mashtots statue and Matenadaran	7th century obelisk monument in Aghitu Memorial
		֏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
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

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	Reverse
		֏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
		֏100		Blue and grey	Viktor Hambardzumyan (1908–1996)	Byurakan Observatory
		֏500	129 x 72 mm	Grey	Alexander Tamanian (1878–1936)	Government House in Yerevan designed by Alexander Tamanyan
		֏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
		֏5,000	143 x 72 mm	Yellow and green	Hovhannes Tumanyan (1869–1923)	Nature scene from Lori, from one of Martiros Saryan's paintings
		֏10,000	150 x 72 mm	Purple	Avetik Isahakyan (1875–1957)	An image of old Gyumri
		֏20,000	155 x 72 mm	Yellow, red and brown	Martiros Saryan (1880–1972)	Detail from an Armenian landscape by Martiros Saryan
		֏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.
		֏100,000	160 x 72 mm	Blue	Abgar V of Edessa	Abgar V of Edessa receiving the mandylion from St. Thaddeus (not pictured).^[24]
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

500 dram commemorative note (2017)

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

commemorative note (2017)
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse
		֏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
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

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.^[26]

The first three denominations, ֏10,000, ֏20,000 and ֏50,000, were issued on November 22, 2018. 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	Reverse
		֏1,000	130 × 72 mm	Violet	Paruyr Sevak (1924–1971), poems	Paryur Sevak house (museum), Zangakatun; statue of Sevak
		֏2,000	135 × 72 mm	Brown	Tigran Petrosian (1929–1984), chessboard	Tigran Petrosian Chess House (Yerevan), statue of Petrosyan
		֏5,000	140 × 72 mm	Red	William Saroyan (1908–1981), covers from Saroyan's books, mountain	Statue of Saroyan (Yerevan)
		֏10,000	145 × 72 mm	Gray-purple	Komitas (1869–1935)	Gevorgian Seminary and statue of Komitas, Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin)
		֏20,000	150 × 72 mm	Green	Ivan Aivazovsky (1817–1900)	Aivazovsky National Art Gallery Museum and statue of Aivazovskiy, Feodosia (Crimea)
		֏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
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Exchange rates

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

Current AMD exchange rates
From Google Finance:	AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD RUB
From Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD RUB
From XE.com:	AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD RUB
From OANDA:	AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD RUB

Note: Rates obtained from these websites may be slightly different from the rates the Central Bank of Armenia publishes

See also

• Artsakh dram
• Economy of Armenia
• List of currencies
• List of currencies in Europe
• List of circulating currencies

References

1. Ter‐Matevosyan, Vahram; Currie, Brent (January 2019). "A conflict that did not happen: revisiting the Javakhk affair in Georgia". Nations and Nationalism. 25 (1): 18. doi:10.1111/nana.12454. S2CID 150264423. Javakhk was also brought into the lari (national currency of Georgia) zone around 2005 (previously the Russian ruble, followed by the Armenian Dram, was the main currency in circulation in Javakhk.
2. Øverland, Indra (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 (10). doi:10.4000/pipss.3717. hdl:11250/2441585. ...the predominance of the Russian rouble as the principal currency of Javakheti, making the region a de facto part of the rouble zone. The second currency of Javakheti was the Armenian dram, whereas the Georgian lari was used so little that it could sometimes be difficult to get information about the rate of exchange.
3. "JAVAKHETI–ANOTHER PROBLEM AREA IN GEORGIA?". Jamestown. Jamestown Foundation. March 7, 2002. Archived from the original on 4 September 2020. Georgia's national currency, the lari, has almost no circulation in Javakheti. The Armenian dram and the Russian rouble are the everyday currencies.
4. Smbat Minasyan, Armenian Coins – History of Armenian coinage – Ancient, Medieval, Modern, Armenian History
5. Pomfret, Richard (2001). The IMF and the Rouble Zone. Available at: http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1057/ces.2002.17
6. Armenian commemorative coins for sale
7. Armenian commemorative coins cathalogue
8. BBC (2013). Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21572359
9. Armenian Central Bank. www.cba.am
10. Central Bank of Armenia. Available at: https://www.cba.am/en/SitePages/detailsnccracoinsnotcirculated.aspx?nominal=1
11. Central Bank of Armenia. Available at: https://www.cba.am/en/SitePages/detailsnccracoinsnotcirculated.aspx?nominal=2
12. Central Bank of Armenia. Available at: https://www.cba.am/en/SitePages/detailsnccracoinsnotcirculated.aspx?nominal=3
13. Central Bank of Armenia. Available at: https://www.cba.am/en/SitePages/detailsnccracoinsnotcirculated.aspx?nominal=4
14. Central Bank of Armenia. Available at: https://www.cba.am/en/SitePages/detailsnccracoinsnotcirculated.aspx?nominal=5
15. Central Bank of Armenia. Available at: https://www.cba.am/en/SitePages/detailsnccracoinsnotcirculated.aspx?nominal=6
16. Central Bank of Armenia. Available at: https://www.cba.am/en/SitePages/detailsnccracoinsnotcirculated.aspx?nominal=7
17. Central Bank of Armenia. Available at: https://www.cba.am/en/SitePages/detailsnccracoinscirculated.aspx?nominal=1
18. Central Bank of Armenia. Available at: https://www.cba.am/en/SitePages/detailsnccracoinscirculated.aspx?nominal=2
19. Central Bank of Armenia. Available at: https://www.cba.am/en/SitePages/detailsnccracoinscirculated.aspx?nominal=3
20. Central Bank of Armenia. Available at: https://www.cba.am/en/SitePages/detailsnccracoinscirculated.aspx?nominal=4
21. Central Bank of Armenia. Available at: https://www.cba.am/en/SitePages/detailsnccracoinscirculated.aspx?nominal=5
22. Central Bank of Armenia. Available at: https://www.cba.am/en/SitePages/detailsnccracoinscirculated.aspx?nominal=6
23. "Central Bank Of The Republic Of Armenia". Cba.am. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
24. "Բիզնես 24 - Հայկական Բիզնես Օրաթերթ, 24/08/09". B24.am. 2009-08-24. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
25. . JAMnews. 2017-11-27. Archived from the original on 2018-01-12. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
26. "Armenia starts new series with Hybrid banknote". Securamonde. 23 November 2018.

External links

• Central Bank of Armenia
• Armenian Dram Sign History, shape, and promotion of Armenian Dram Sign
• Coin Types from Armenia Lists, pictures, and values of Armenian coin types
• Coins of Armenia at CISCoins.net
• The banknotes of Armenia (in English and German)