Armenian dram encyclopedia topics

History

For earlier Armenian currency, see Armenian ruble.

The first instance of a dram currency in Armenia was in the period from 1199 to 1375, when silver coins called dram were issued.

On 21 September 1991 a national referendum proclaimed Armenia as an independent republic from the Soviet Union. The Central Bank of Armenia was adopted on 27 March, 1993, under the governorship of Isahak Isahakyan. However the old Soviet banknotes were legal tender until November 1993. The modern dram came into effect on 22 November, 1993, at a rate of 200 rubles = 1 dram (1 USD : 14.5 AMD). The dram is not pegged to any other currency.

Coins

In 1994, coins were introduced by the Central Bank of Armenia in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 luma, 1, 3, 5 and 10 dram. All were struck in aluminium. In 2003 and 2004, a new coinage

consisting of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 dram coins was introduced. The 10 dram is struck in aluminium, the 20 dram in copper plated steel, the 50 dram in brass plated steel, 100 dram in nickel plated steel and 200 dram in brass. The 500 dram coin is bimetallic with brass outer ring and cupronickel centre.

Banknotes

In 1993, banknotes of 10, 25, 50, 100, 200 and 500 dram were issued. Notes for 1000 and 5000 dram were put into circulation on October 24, 1994 and September 1995, respectively. In 1999, a 20,000 dram note was issued, whilst a commemorative 50,000 dram note was issued in 2001 to observe the 1700th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity in Armenia. 10,000 dram notes were introduced in 2003.

Banknotes currently in circulation are

500 dram
1000 dram
5000 dram
10,000 dram
20,000 dram
50,000 dram

In addition, the following banknotes are no longer legal tender (since April 1, 2004) but may be exchanged at banks: 10, 25, 50 and 100 drams. The 1993 500-dram banknote has also ceased to be legal tender since September 1, 2005, but there is a 1999 500-dram banknote that is still in circulation.

First Series
Image		Value	Main Colour	Description
Obverse	Reverse	Value	Main Colour	Obverse	Reverse
		10 Dram	Green/Brown
		25 Dram	Brown
		50 Dram	Pink/Blue
		100 Dram	Purple
		200 Dram	Yellow
		500 Dram	Green
		1000 Dram	Brown
		5000 Dram	Blue/Yellow

Second Series
Image		Value	Main Colour	Description
Obverse	Reverse	Value	Main Colour	Obverse	Reverse
		50 Dram	Purple	Aram Khachaturian
		100 Dram	Blue	Viktor Amazaspovich Ambartsumian
		500 Dram	Grey	Alexander Tamanyan
		1000 Dram	Green	Yeghishe Charents
		5000 Dram	Yellow/Green	Hovhannes Tumanyan
		10,000 Dram	Purple	Avetik Isahakyan
		20,000 Dram	Yellow/Red
		50,000 Dram	Red

Money Supply

Currency in circulation has shown steady growth since first issue in 1993.

Year	Currency in circulation (billion of dram)
1993	1.2
1994	11.1
1995	25.7
1996	37.1
1997	42.2
1998	45.3
1999	45.5
2000	61.9
2001	66.7
2002	92.1
2003	96.8

References

External links

This article contains content from HierarchyPedia article Dram, used here under the GNU Free Documentation License

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Last updated on Thursday July 17, 2008 at 23:09:20 PDT (GMT -0700)
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