Catalog
1000 Drams Leopard
| Issuer | Central Bank of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Type | Non-circulating coin |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A highly detailed, finely engraved frontal portrait of a Caucasian leopard (Panthera pardus ciscaucasica) fills the central field, rendered in bold relief with naturalistic fur texture and prominent whiskers. The Armenian word ՎԱՅՐԻ (wild) appears at the upper left and ԿԵՆԴԱՆԻՆԵՐ (animals) at the upper right, with ՎԱՉՌԸ (leopard) arcing across the top of the field. A bilingual legend in Armenian and Latin script curves around the lower portion of the coin, reading ՊԱՉՊԱՆԵՆՔ ՎԱՅՐԻ ԿԵՆԴԱՆԻՆԵՐԻՆ to the left and LEOPARD · WILDLIFE PROTECTION · below and to the right. |
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| Reverse lettering | ՎԱՉՌԸ ՊԱՉՊԱՆԵՆՔ ՎԱՅՐԻ ԿԵՆԴԱՆԻՆԵՐԻՆ LEOPARD ∙ WILDLIFE PROTECTION ∙ |
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| Additional information |
Nagorno-Karabakh's coinage occupies a legally ambiguous position that no major numismatic authority has fully resolved — the republic declared independence from Azerbaijan in 1991 but was never recognized by any UN member state, including Armenia, which nonetheless provided its primary financial and military support. These pieces were issued by a central bank of a country that most governments officially pretended did not exist.
The silver-with-gold-plate construction of this type, rather than solid gold, reflects the fiscal constraints of an unrecognized statelet operating under blockade conditions throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s.