Armenian dram


The dram is the monetary unit of Armenia and the neighboring Republic of Artsakh. It was historically subdivided into 100 luma. The word "dram" translates into English as "money" and is cognate with the Greek drachma and the Arabic dirham, as well as the English weight unit dram. 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 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 among CIS states. Armenia joined this ruble 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 ruble zone effectively collapsed with the unilateral monetary reform in Russia, 1993. As result the states that were still participating 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

After its proclamation of independence, Armenia put into circulation its own national currency, the Armenian Dram; this required 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. 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 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 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 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 dram. The other coins are officially in circulation but rarely used because of their low nominal value.
In 2003 and 2004, a new series of coins was introduced in denominations of 10-, 20-, 50-, 100-, 200 and 500 dram.
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.
Notes for 1,000 and 5,000 dram were put into circulation later.

Second series (1998-2017)

Banknotes of 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 in commemoration of the 1700th anniversary of the adoption of Christianity in Armenia. A 500 dram commemorative note was issued on 22 November 2017 to commemorate the story of Noah's Ark.

Third series (2018-present)

A third series of Armenian dram banknotes were issued in 2018, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Armenia's national currency. 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 100,000 dram banknote for this issue. 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.

Exchange rates

The modern dram came into effect on 22 November 1993, at a rate of 200 rubles = 1 dram. The dram is not pegged to any currency other than the Artsakh dram.