Armenian dram

Armenian dram
Հայկական Դրամ  (Armenian)
A 100,000 (haryur hazar) Armenian dram banknote, the highest denominated banknote in circulation.
ISO 4217
Code	AMD
Denominations
Subunit
1/100	luma (լումա) (not used)
Symbol
Banknotes
Freq. used	1000, 5000, 10 000, 20 000, 50 000, 100 000 dram
Rarely used	50, 100, 500 dram
Coins	10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 dram
Demographics
User(s)	Armenia  Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
Issuance
Central bank	Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia
Website	www.cba.am
Valuation
Inflation	4.5% (Armenia only)
Source	The World Factbook, 2007 est.
Pegged with	Nagorno-Karabakh dram

The dram (Armenian: Դրամ; sign: ; code: AMD) is the monetary unit of Armenia. It is subdivided into 100 luma (Armenian: լումա). The word "dram" translates into English as "money" and is cognate with the Greek drachma and the Arabic dirham. The first instance of a dram currency was in the period from 1199 to 1375, when silver coins called dram were issued.

History

On 21 September 1991, a national referendum proclaimed Armenia as an independent republic 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 ruble) among CIS states. Armenia joined this rublezone. 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 rublezone effectively collapsed with the unilateral monetary reform in Russia, 1993. As result the states that were still participating (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.^[1]

Armenian dram sign

The dram Sign

In 1995 the currency sign for the Armenian dram was designed.The Armenian dram sign (֏, image: ; Armenian: Դրամ; code: AMD) is the currency sign of the Armenian dram. In Unicode, it is encoded at U+058F ֏ ARMENIAN DRAM SIGN (HTML ֏).

After its proclamation of independence, Armenia put into circulation its own national currency – Armenian Dram, the usage of which revealed the necessity for a monetary 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). Since that time and until the official endorsement of the sign a number of artists and businessmen developed and offered various shapes for it. Now the Sign (Dram symbol) is present in the Armenian standard for the national characters and symbols and in the Armenian computer fonts.

Nagorno-Karabakh

The Armenian dram is also used in the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. A separate currency, the Nagorno-Karabakh dram, which circulates together with the Armenian dram was introduced during 2005. Coins and banknotes ranging in nominal values from 50 luma to 10 dram were issued.

Officially the Nagorno-Karabakh dram is legal tender in both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. In practice it is however mostly sold as souvenirs due to the low nominal values of the coins and notes issued.^[2]

Coins

In 1994, a first series of aluminium coins was introduced in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 luma, 1, 3, 5 and 10 dram. 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 or .

First series (1994)

In 1994, a first series of aluminium coins was introduced in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 luma, 1, 3, 5 and 10 dram. At present only the 10 dram coin is still in use. The other coins are officially in circulation but not really used because of to their low nominal value.^[3][4]

First series (1994)
Image	Value	Technical parameters			Description			Date of
		Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	first minting	issue	withdrawal	lapse
	10 luma[5]	16.0 mm	0.59 g	aluminium alloy	Smooth	Value, year of minting	Armenian coat of arms	1994	February 21, 1994	Current, but not used in practice	-
	20 luma[6]	18.0 mm	0.75 g		Smooth
	50 luma[7]	20.0 mm	0.93 g		Smooth
	1 dram[8]	22.0 mm	1.39 g		Milled
	3 dram[9]	24.0 mm	1.63 g		Milled
	5 dram[10]	26.0 mm	1.98 g		Smooth
	10 dram[11]	28.0 mm	2.30 g		Smooth					Current

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

Second series (2003-2004)

In 2003 and 2004, a new coinage consisting of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 dram coins was introduced.

Second series (2003-2004)
Image	Value	Technical parameters			Description			Date of
		Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	first minting	issue	withdrawal	lapse
	10 dram[12]	20.0 mm	1.3 g	aluminium alloy	Milled	Value,ornaments, year of minting	Armenian coat of arms	2004	December 1, 2004	Current	-
	20 dram[13]	20.5 mm	2.75 g	Copper-plated steel	Smooth			2003	January 1, 2003
	50 dram[14]	21.5 mm	3.5 g	Brass-plated steel	Milled				March 31, 2003
	100 dram[15]	22.5 mm	4.0 g	Nickel-plated steel	Milled
	200 dram[16]	24.0 mm	4.5 g	Alloy of copper, aluminum, nickel	Milled
	500 dram[17]	22.0 mm	5.0 g	Inner ring: copper-nickel Outer ring: alloy of copper, aluminum, nickel	Interrupted milled

• 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 (1993-1995)

On 22 November 1993, banknotes of 10, 25, 50, 100, 200 and 500 dram were issued.^[18] Notes for 1000 and 5000 dram were put into circulation later.

First series (1993-1995)
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue	annul
		10 dram	125 x 62 mm	Brown/Purple	Yerevan Train Station and David of Sasun statue	Mount Ararat	1993	November 22, 1993	April 1, 2004
		25 dram		Yellow/Brown/Blue	Urartian cuneiform tablet and a lion relief from Erebuni fortress	Ornaments
		50 dram		Blue/Red	National Gallery and History Museum of Armenia	Armenian parliament building			January 1, 2004
		100 dram		Blue/Purple/Red	Mount Ararat and Zvartnots Cathedral	Armenian Opera Theater
		200 dram	135 x 62 mm	Brown/Green/Yellow/Red	St. Hripsime Church in Echmiadzin	Ornaments			April 1, 2004
		500 dram		Green/Brown/Blue	Mount Ararat and a Tigran the Great tetradrachm				September 1, 2005
		1,000 dram	145 x 68 mm	Brown/Orange	Mesrop Mashtots statue and Matenadaran	7th century obelisk monument from Ani	1994	October 25, 1994	March 1, 2004
		5,000 dram	145 x 71 mm	Green/Yellow/Purple	Temple of Garni	Bronze head of goddess Anahit kept in the British Museum	1995	September 6, 1995	July 1, 2005
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimeter. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Second series (1998-present)

The banknotes of the 50, 100, and 500 dram are rarely seen in circulation. The 50, 100, and 500 dram coins are used instead.
A commemorative 50,000 dram note was issued on 4 June 2001 to observe the 1700th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity in Armenia.

Second series (1998–present)
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	printing	issue	annul
		50 dram	122 x 65  mm	Pink/Blue/Grey	Aram Khachaturian and Armenian Opera Theater	A scene from the ballet Gayane by Khachaturian, and Mount Ararat	1998	??	April 1, 2004
		100 dram		Blue/Grey	Viktor Hambardzumyan	Byurakan Observatory
		500 dram	129 x 72 mm	Grey	Alexander Tamanyan	Government House in Yerevan designed by A. Tamanyan	1999	September 1, 2000	Current
		1,000 dram	136 x 72 mm	Green/Pink	Yeghishe Charents	An image of old Yerevan	1999 2001 2011	March 1, 1999
		5,000 dram	143 x 72 mm	Yellow/Green	Hovhannes Tumanyan	Nature of Lori from Martiros Saryan's paintings	1999 2003 2009 2012	July 1, 2000
		10,000 dram	150 x 72 mm	Purple	Avetik Isahakyan	An image of old Gyumri	2003 2006 2008 2012	November 1, 2003
		20,000 dram	155 x 72 mm	Yellow/Red/Brown	Martiros Saryan	Episode from Martiros Saryan's Armenia landscape	1999 2007 2009 2012	March 1, 1999
		50,000 dram	160 x 79 mm	Brown/Red	Etchmiadzin Cathedral	St. Gregory the Illuminator and king Tiridates the Great lift up the Armenian Church; on the right - a khachkar from Kecharis Monastery.	2001	June 4, 2001
		100,000 dram	160 x 72 mm	Blue/Brown	Abgar V of Edessa	In the center St. Thaddeus transfers the mandylion to Abgar V of Edessa.[19]	2009	August 24, 2009
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimeter. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Exchange rates

The modern dram came into effect on 22 November 1993, at a rate of 200 rubles = 1 dram (1 USD : 404 AMD). The dram is not pegged to any currency other than the Nagorno-Karabakh dram.

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

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Money of Armenia.

• Central Bank of Armenia
• Armenian Currency Exchange
• Central Bank of Armenia next day USD to AMD exchange rate prediction Engine
• Armemian 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