Armenian dram

The Armenian dram (ISO code: AMD, symbol: ֏) is the national currency of the Republic of Armenia, with the exclusive right to issue and regulate its circulation belonging to the Central Bank of Armenia. Although the history of Armenian currency dates back to the second half of the 3rd century BC, during the reign of the Armenian kings of Sophene, followed by the Ervanduni and Artaxiad dynasties (especially Tigranes the Great), and saw significant development in the Kingdom of Cilicia, the official currency of modern independence was introduced on November 22, 1993, replacing the Soviet ruble (with an exchange rate of 1 dram = 200 rubles). One dram consists of 100 lumas, although the luma is currently not in circulation. Throughout its existence, the Armenian dram has undergone several evolutionary phases. In 1998, the second series of banknotes was put into circulation, and in 2018, in connection with the 25th anniversary of Armenia's independence, a third generation of banknotes was introduced, made with high-security features and modern composite (hybrid) materials (with nominal values of 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000, 20,000, and 50,000), which feature prominent figures from Armenian culture and science (Tumanyan, Petrosyan, Saroyan, Komitas, Aivazovsky, Grigor Narekatsi). Coins with face values of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 drams are also in circulation. Thanks to the Central Bank's targeting of inflation and flexible monetary policy, the Armenian dram stands out in the reg