National currency of Armenia: the history of appearance and appearance

The national currency of Armenia is called dram. This term originated from the ancient Greek word "drachma", which translates as "money". Such Armenian notes were put into circulation in November 1993. At the same time, the first mention of drams dates back to the twelfth century, but at that time it was exclusively silver coins.

Nominal values

The authorship of the design of banknotes of the 1993 model was originally owned by the British company Thomas de la Rue. Two years later they were updated, and their design was carried out by the firm "Giesecke & Devrient" from Germany. One dram is formed from a hundred. As of today, there are banknotes in circulation in the circulation, the dignity of which is one, five, ten, twenty, fifty and one hundred thousand drams, as well as 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 AMD coins.

History of the Armenian currency

Speaking about the currency in Armenia, one can not but note the fact that paper money here first appeared in the times of the Republic in 1918. These were rubles, which were in use for only two years. In 1920, the country became part of the USSR, so the Soviet currency was introduced into circulation. After the declaration of independence of the state on September 23, 1991, it was used here for another two years, until the establishment of the Central Bank. Only after that, as already mentioned above, the national currency of Armenia appeared. Initially, money was printed, the denomination of which was 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 5000 AMD. Exchange for residents of the state was made based on the rate of 200 rubles per one dram.

In 1996, strong inflation began in Armenia, and as a result, national money was constantly depreciating. As a result, the government several times decided to issue banknotes with a large denomination.

Appearance

The image of the outstanding figures of the country, as well as its historical heritage, are put on the Armenian dram. It should be noted that the palette is quite colorful. For example, if you take a banknote, the denomination of which is one thousand drams, then you can see a portrait of the famous local writer Egishe Charents. To his right, Ararat flaunts in the background. On the back of the note in the background is an image of an ancient Yerevan building, and on the front - a horse harnessed to a wagon.

No less beautiful is a banknote of fifty thousand drams. On the front side there is a picture of the cathedral of Etchmiadzin, and to the left of it there is an inscription that says that Christianity is the national religion of the country for 1700 years. On the back you can see the images of his distributor St. Grigor and King Tiradates the Great against the background of Ararat. Here, on the right, is an ornament of the church of Kecharis. The protection of a banknote is a watermark, made in the form of a cross.

Currency exchange

Practically in all commercial establishments of the country only the national currency of Armenia is accepted for calculation. Exceptions can be called unless large hotels, restaurants and a few shops, which will accept the euro, US dollars or Russian rubles. Money can be exchanged at specialized points or in banks. It should be noted that doing this is better in large cities, since it is often difficult to find an exchanger outside of them. A similar situation with bank cards. ATMs are quite rare even in the capital of the state of Yerevan. Banking institutions in Armenia, as a rule, work only until 16-00. In this regard, going to this country, it is better to take care of the exchange of money in advance.

As for the course, at present the Armenian currency is correlated with foreign money as follows: 1 Russian ruble - 11.9 Armenian drams, 1 euro - 567 Armenian drams, 1 American dollar - 414 Armenian drams.