10 000 Dram Martiros Sarian

Martiros Sarian (1880–1972) was the dominant figure in Armenian visual art throughout the Soviet period, known internationally for his intensely saturated color work influenced by both Matisse and the landscapes of the Caucasus. He outlived Stalin and continued painting into extreme old age, dying at 92 with his reputation intact — a rare achievement for an artist who had navigated the full arc of Soviet cultural politics.

The Central Bank of Armenia issued several gold commemoratives in this period honoring Armenian cultural figures, part of a broader post-independence effort to establish a national numismatic identity distinct from Soviet-era coinage.