The national currency of Armenia is called dram. This term comes from the ancient Greek word "drachma", which translates as "money." Such Armenian banknotes were put into circulation in November 1993. Along with this, the first mention of dramas dates back to the twelfth century, but at that time it was exclusively silver coins.
Denominations
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 done by Giesecke & Devrient from Germany. One drum is formed from a hundred lum. As of today, in the country are banknotes in circulation, the denomination of which is one, five, ten, twenty, fifty and one hundred thousand drams, as well as coins of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 drams in denomination.
History of the Armenian currency
Speaking about what currency is in Armenia, one cannot fail to note the fact that paper money first appeared here during the time 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 creation of the Central Bank. Only after this, as noted above, the national currency of Armenia appeared. Initially, money was printed, the face value of which was 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 5000 drams. Exchange for residents of the state was carried out based on the rate of 200 rubles per dram.
In 1996, strong inflation began in Armenia, in connection with which the national money was constantly depreciating. As a result, the government several times decided to issue banknotes with a high denomination.
Appearance
The Armenian dram depicts images of outstanding figures of the country, as well as its historical heritage. It should be noted that the palette is quite colorful. For example, if you take a banknote with a face value of one thousand drams, then you can see a portrait of the famous local writer Yeghishe Charents on it. Ararat flaunts to the right of him against the background. On the back of the bill in the background is an image of an old Yerevan building, and in the foreground is a horse harnessed to a wagon.
No less beautiful is a banknote of fifty thousand drams. On the front side, there is the Cathedral of Echmiadzin, and to the left of it is an inscription that states that Christianity has been the national religion of the country for 1700 years. On the back you can see images of its distributor St. Gregory and King Tiridates the Great against the backdrop of Ararat. Here on the right is an ornament of the Kecharis church. Banknote protection is a watermark made in the shape of a cross.
Currency exchange
In almost all trade institutions 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 at banks. It should be noted that this is better done in large cities, since it is often difficult to find an exchanger outside of them. The situation is similar with bank cards. ATMs are quite rare even in the capital 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 exchange rate, the currency of Armenia is currently correlated with foreign money as follows: 1 Russian ruble - 11.9 Armenian drams, 1 euro - 567 Armenian drams, 1 US dollar - 414 Armenian drams.