Armenian dram facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Armenian dram
֏100,000 banknote, the highest denominated banknote in circulation.
ISO 4217 Code	AMD
Official user(s)	Armenia
Unofficial user(s)	Georgia: Javakheti (Javakhk) region (de facto until c. 2005)
Inflation	-0.6%
Source	[1], December 2023
Subunit
1⁄100	luma (լումա)
Symbol	֏
Plural	The language(s) of this currency does not have a morphological plural distinction.
Coins
Freq. used	֏10, ֏20, ֏50, ֏100, ֏200, ֏500
Rarely used	10, 20, 50 luma, ֏1, ֏3, ֏5
Banknotes
Freq. used	֏1,000, ֏2,000, ֏5,000, ֏10,000, ֏20,000, ֏50,000
Rarely used	֏50, ֏100, ֏500, ֏100,000

The Armenian dram (Armenian: դրամ) is the official currency of Armenia. You'll see its special sign: ֏. Sometimes, it's shortened to դր.. Its international code is AMD.

Long ago, one dram was divided into 100 smaller units called luma (լումա). Today, luma coins are rarely used. The Central Bank of Armenia is in charge of making and distributing all the dram banknotes and coins. They also help manage Armenia's economy.

The word dram means "money." It's similar to the Greek word "drachma" and the Arabic word "dirham." It's even related to the English word "dram," which is a small unit of weight.

History of the Armenian Dram

The idea of a "dram" currency isn't new! Silver coins called dram were first used in Armenia between 1199 and 1375. These coins were made on and off until Armenia lost its independence.

Later, when Armenia became part of Russian Armenia, people used the Imperial ruble. After that, during the time of the Soviet Union, there were attempts to use a local version of the Russian ruble.

On September 21, 1991, Armenia became an independent republic, separate from the Soviet Union. The Central Bank of Armenia was then created on March 27, 1993. This bank was given the important job of creating Armenia's own national money.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many countries tried to keep using the same currency, the Russian rouble. Armenia was part of this group. But it quickly became clear that it was too hard to share a currency when countries were facing so many political and economic changes.

The shared rouble system broke down in 1993. This meant countries like Armenia had to create their own money. Armenia was one of the last to do so, introducing the dram on November 22, 1993.

What is the Armenian Dram Sign?

The dram sign

The special sign for the Armenian dram (֏) was created in 1995. Before it became official, many artists and business people drew different ideas for the sign. It was important to have a unique symbol, just like the dollar ($) or euro (€) signs.

Now, the dram symbol is part of Armenia's official standards for characters and computer fonts. You can find it in the Unicode system, which helps computers understand and display text from all over the world.

Armenian Coins

Armenia has had two main series of coins since the dram was introduced. The Central Bank of Armenia also makes special collector coins.

First Series of Coins (1994–2002)

In 1994, the first Armenian dram coins were made. They were all made of Aluminium. These coins came in small values: 10, 20, and 50 luma, and 1, 3, 5, and 10 drams. Today, the luma coins and the very small dram coins are not used much because their value is so low.

First series (1994)
Image		Value	Technical parameters			Description
Obverse	Reverse		Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse
		10 luma	16 mm	0.6 g	Aluminium	Smooth	Armenian coat of arms	Value, year of minting
		20 luma	18 mm	0.75 g
		50 luma	20 mm	0.95 g
		֏1	22 mm	1.4 g		Reeded
		֏3	24 mm	1.65 g
		֏5	26 mm	2 g		Smooth
		֏10	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 from this series show the year 1994.

Second Series of Coins (2003–Present)

A newer set of coins was introduced in 2003 and 2004. These coins are used every day. They come in values of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 drams. These coins are made from different metals, making them stronger and harder to copy.

Second series (2003-2004)
Image		Value	Technical parameters			Description
Obverse	Reverse		Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse
		֏10	20 mm	1.3 g	Aluminium	Reeded	Armenian coat of arms	Value, ornaments, year of minting
		֏20	20.5 mm	2.75 g	Copper-plated Steel	Smooth
		֏50	21.5 mm	3.45 g	Brass-plated steel	Reeded
		֏100	22.5 mm	4 g	Nickel-plated Steel
		֏200	24 mm	4.5 g	Brass
		֏500	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 from this series show the year 2003 or 2004.

Armenian Banknotes

Armenia has released several series of banknotes over the years. The first series is no longer used, but the second and third series are still in circulation.

First Series of Banknotes (1993–1998)

The first banknotes were issued on November 22, 1993. They came in values of 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 500 drams. Later, ֏1,000 and ֏5,000 notes were added. These notes are no longer used today.

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	Ancient 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 coin of Tigranes the Great
		֏1,000	145 x 68 mm	Brown and orange	Mesrop Mashtots statue and Matenadaran (a museum of ancient manuscripts)	7th century monument in Aghitu
		֏5,000	145 x 71 mm	Green, yellow and purple	Temple of Garni	Bronze head of goddess Anahit
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Second Series of Banknotes (1998–2017)

This series started in 1998 and is still used today. However, the ֏50, ֏100, and ֏500 notes are rarely seen. People usually use coins for these values instead.

In 2001, a special ֏50,000 note was made. It celebrated 1,700 years since Christianity became the official religion 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 (a famous composer) and Armenian Opera Theater	A scene from Khachaturian's ballet Gayane, and Mount Ararat
		֏100		Blue and grey	Viktor Hambardzumyan (a famous scientist)	Byurakan Observatory
		֏500	129 x 72 mm	Grey	Alexander Tamanian (a famous architect)	Government House in Yerevan
		֏1,000	136 x 72 mm	Green and pink	Yeghishe Charents (a famous poet)	An image of old Yerevan
		֏5,000	143 x 72 mm	Yellow and green	Hovhannes Tumanyan (a famous writer)	Nature scene from Lori
		֏10,000	150 x 72 mm	Purple	Avetik Isahakyan (a famous poet)	An image of old Gyumri
		֏20,000	155 x 72 mm	Yellow, red and brown	Martiros Saryan (a famous painter)	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; a khachkar (Armenian cross-stone)
		֏100,000	160 x 72 mm	Blue	Abgar V of Edessa (an ancient king)	Abgar V of Edessa receiving a holy cloth from St. Thaddeus
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

500 Dram Commemorative Note (2017)

On November 22, 2017, a special 500 dram banknote was released. It celebrated the story of Noah's Ark and marked 25 years since Armenia's national currency was introduced.

Commemorative note (2017)
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse
		֏500	140 × 76 mm	Brown and grey	A container with a piece of Noah's Ark; Etchmiadzin Cathedral with Mount Ararat	An image of Noah, his family, and animals with Mount Ararat in the background
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Third Series of Banknotes (2018–Present)

The newest series of Armenian dram banknotes came out in 2018. It includes a new ֏2,000 note. Some older values like ֏50, ֏100, ֏500, and ֏100,000 are not part of this new series. These new banknotes are made from a special mix of paper and plastic, making them more durable.

The first notes (֏10,000, ֏20,000, and ֏50,000) were released on November 22, 2018. The rest (֏1,000, ֏2,000, and ֏5,000) came out 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 (a famous poet), and his poems	Paryur Sevak house (museum), Zangakatun; statue of Sevak
		֏2,000	135 × 72 mm	Brown	Tigran Petrosian (a famous chess player), and a chessboard	Tigran Petrosian Chess House (Yerevan), statue of Petrosyan
		֏5,000	140 × 72 mm	Red	William Saroyan (a famous writer), covers from his books, a mountain	Statue of Saroyan (Yerevan)
		֏10,000	145 × 72 mm	Gray-purple	Komitas (a famous composer and musicologist)	Gevorgian Seminary and statue of Komitas, Vagharshapat
		֏20,000	150 × 72 mm	Green	Ivan Aivazovsky (a famous painter)	Aivazovsky National Art Gallery Museum and statue of Aivazovskiy, Feodosia
		֏50,000	155 × 72 mm	Gold	Saint Gregory the Illuminator (a key figure in Armenian Christianity), old manuscripts, images of a cathedral dome and a winged cross	Khor Virap monastery, Ararat Plain, tombstone of St. Gregory, statue of St. Gregory
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Exchange Rates

When the modern dram was first introduced on November 22, 1993, 200 roubles were equal to 1 dram. At that time, 1 US dollar was worth about 404 drams.

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

See Also

In Spanish: Dram armenio para niños

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