Collectible paper money from Armenia includes early Soviet issues, beginning in 1919. The modern country of Armenia produces its own banknotes, a practice which began in 1993.
Those who collect rare Armenian banknotes often also pick up nice pieces from nearby Georgia and Azerbaijan when possible. The histories of these three Caucasian lands are closely intertwined, even while their respective paper money issues remain distinct.
Early Soviet Armenia Banknotes
In 1919, the conquering Soviets first issued paper money for Armenia. That year, there were two separate issues. Both featured the prominent inscription ГОСУДАРСТВЕННАГО БАНКА, meaning Government Bank (i.e., the central bank in the capital of Yerevan).
The first series were valued between five and 1,000 rubles, while the second series consisted only of remakes of the 50-ruble and higher bills.
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There was no Armenian text on the notes of 1919.
The 1920 Series – Finally, Armenian Text
Three more series followed in 1920, and the first of these included small bits of Armenia text alongside the Cyrillic Soviet typography. It was a short-lived fancy, though; the second 1920 series reverted back to the Cyrillic-only design.
All of the above Armenian banknotes sported a dull, purely functional design: text only, no images or fancy borders or anything. But the third 1920 series of Armenian paper money, finally, was something beautiful to look at.
The First Good-Looking Armenian Paper Money Issues
The third series of 1920 (which bore 1919 on them, incidentally, so be aware when scanning for sale lists) boasted lovely and artistic designs, and are the first Armenian notes to be aesthetically pleasing in and of themselves (unless you’re a real fan of drab, blocky text). Ornate borders, big bold numbers, and images of dragons, eagles, mountains, mighty pillars, and women spinning cloth enliven these colorful notes. Note also the prominent and artfully-rendered Armenian text. (Some scattered French appears as well, alongside the much-reduced Cyrillic.)
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These bills were, as was usual, in rubles, and consisted of these three values:
- 50 rubles
- 100 rubles
- 250 rubles
You may be able to find a complete set of these for less than $100, higher if you insist on notes in crisper condition.
Transcaucasian Armenian Banknotes
From here the Armenia banknote story gets a little twisty. Notes had been issued for the entire Transcaucasian Region; these are known as “currency tokens” and include several different scripts on a single note, including Armenian. Inflation was a bit of an issue around this time, in Armenia and the larger area: within months, bills worth ten billion rubles were being produced.
In addition to all of this, paper money pieces especially for the Armenian Socialist Soviet Republic (Armenia SSR) continued to be issued. The denominations on these got out of hand as well; after 5,000,000 rubles, the unit was abandoned for a single 1 chervonetz note. (A chervonetz actually refers to a gold coin; these notes were not actually issued in Armenia but were printed and can be occasionally found for sale.)
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Alexandropol Banknotes
The Armenian city of Alexandropol, now called Leninakan, issued two collectible series of notes in 1919-1920. These were basically one-sided notes on flat grey paper, with only a round colored stamp on the reverse. The 1919 series is extremely scarce. Collectors are likely to have only the 1920 notes available to them, if any.
Modern Armenian Banknotes, 1993 – Now
When Armenia gained its independence from the Soviet Union, it issued its first paper money notes in 1993. These simply-designed “coupons”, even the earliest examples, are fortunately easy to find for sale for modest sums. (Uncirculated SPECIMEN notes will be more collectible but significantly higher-priced.)
Gone are the days of the ruble for Armenia; new notes use the currency dram. (The plural of dram is dram, but many sellers may use the term “drams” anyway.) The designs on these got more and more complex, until Armenia decided to finally go for it, design-wise, in 1998.
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Full-fledged Modern Armenian Paper Money
The 1998 issue of Armenian paper money issues saw stately, modern designs finally. Beginning with a 50-dram note and going all the way up to 20,000 dram, these new Armenian notes featured scenes, objects, and people important to the country.
Current Armenian banknotes are visually appealing and multicolored. They continue to speak to Armenian culture and history. (See, for example, a 50,000-dram commemorative note from 2001 in honor of 1,700 years of Christianity.) Various notes, and entire series, can be added to your collection from different eras. It depends on what suits your fancy and what you can budget for these mesmerizing notes.
