Catalog
50 000 Drams Hovhannes Shiraz
| Issuer | Artsakh |
|---|---|
| Year | 1998 |
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| Value | 50 000 Drams (50 000) |
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| Obverse description | Central device depicts the coat of arms of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh), featuring a spread eagle with a shield on its breast, rendered in high relief against a mirror-polished field. Two olive branches flank the arms symmetrically at upper left and upper right. The date 1998 appears in the upper field above the arms, and the denomination 50000 is inscribed in the lower field below. An Armenian-script legend curves along the left and right periphery, reading ԼԵՌՆԱՅԻՆ ՂԱՐԱԲԱՂԻ ՀԱՆՐԱՊԵՏՈՒԹՅՈՒՆ ԱՐՑԱԽ (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh). |
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| Reverse lettering | ՀՈՎՀԱՆՆԵՍ ՇԻՐԱԶ HOVHANNES SHIRAZ ∙ 1915 1984 ∙ (Translation: Hovhannes Shiraz) |
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| Additional information |
Artsakh — the self-declared republic in the Nagorno-Karabakh region — issued this coin during a period when it had no international recognition and no seat in any monetary body, making its coinage purely commemorative by necessity. Hovhannes Shiraz, the Armenian lyric poet who died in 1984, was a Leninakan native whose work was suppressed at various points under Soviet rule for its openly nationalist Armenian sentiment. Choosing him for a flagship silver issue was a deliberate cultural-political act.
At 155.5 grams of .999 silver, this is a five-troy-ounce piece — a format typically reserved for prestige bullion issues from established mints.