This article provides a historical summary of the

currencies A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or currency in circulation, circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use wi ...

and monetary units of the country of

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

throughout its

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

, in addition to the Armenian regions of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and Transcaucasian SSR and the majority-Armenian but internationally unrecognized

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Between 1991 and 2023, Artsakh cont ...

List of currencies of Armenia

Past and present currencies used in Armenia include: * ''Dram'' coinsSmbat Minasyan, ''Armenian Coins – History of Armenian coinage – Ancient, Medieval, Modern''
Armenian History
/ref> * ''Takvorin'' coins * First Transcaucasian ruble *

Armenian ruble The ruble (, ) was the independent currency of the First Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic between 1919 and 1923. It replaced the first Transcaucasian ruble at par and was replaced by the second Transcaucasian ruble a ...

* Second Transcaucasian ruble *

Soviet ruble The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, r=rubl', p=rublʲ) was the currency of the Soviet Union. It was introduced in 1922 and replaced the Russian ruble#Imperial ruble (1704-1922), Imperial Russian ruble. One ruble was divided into 100 kopecks ...

Russian ruble The ruble or rouble (; Currency symbol, symbol: ₽; ISO 4217, ISO code: RUB) is the currency of the Russia, Russian Federation. Banknotes and coins are issued by the Central Bank of Russia, which is Russia's central bank, monetary authority ind ...

( CIS monetary union)Pomfret, Richard (2001). The IMF and the Rouble Zone. Available at: http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1057/ces.2002.17 *

Armenian dram The Armenian dram (; Armenian dram sign, sign: ֏; abbreviation: դր.; ISO 4217, ISO code: AMD) is the currency of Armenia. It was historically subdivided into 100 luma (). The Central Bank of Armenia is responsible for issuance and circulation ...

** Luma, 1/100 of a dram *

Artsakh dram The Artsakh dram () was a monetary unit of the '' de facto'' independent Republic of Artsakh, which was dissolved on 1 January 2024 in the aftermath of Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. Despite being legal tender, it was not as widely u ...

History

The first instance of a "dram" currency (, lit. "money") was in the period from 1199 to 1375, when silver coins called ''dram'' or ''tram'' were issued. Dram or Takvorin coinage would periodically continue to be produced until the modern era. A series of attempts to localize the Russian ruble under the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

(CIS) followed. On 21 September 1991, a national referendum proclaimed

as a republic independent from the Soviet Union. The

Central Bank of Armenia The Central Bank of Armenia () is the central bank of Armenia with its headquarters in Yerevan. The CBA is an independent institution responsible for issuing all banknotes and coins in the country, overseeing and regulating the banking sector and ...

, established on 27 March 1993, was given the exclusive right of issuing the national currency. In the immediate aftermath of the

collapse of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, attempts were made to maintain a common currency (the

) among CIS states. Armenia joined this ruble zone. However it soon became clear that maintaining a

currency union A currency union (also known as monetary union) is an intergovernmental agreement that involves two or more states sharing the same currency. These states may not necessarily have any further integration (such as an economic and monetary union ...

in the unstable political and economical circumstances of the

post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

would be very difficult. The Ruble Zone effectively collapsed with the unilateral 1993 Russian monetary reform process. As a result, the remaining CIS participants –

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, Armenia, and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

– were 'pushed out' and forced to introduce separate currencies. Armenia was one of the last countries to do so when it introduced the dram on 22 November 1993.

References

{{Armenia topics Economic history of Armenia

List of currencies of Armenia

History

See also

References