50 000 Drams Monte Melkonian

Monte Melkonian was an American-born Armenian militant who became one of the most effective field commanders in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War before being killed by an Azerbaijani grenade in June 1993. His death came just months before a ceasefire that froze the conflict for over two decades. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's decision to commemorate him on a coin this size — a full five-troy-ounce silver piece — was a pointed political act from a state unrecognized by any UN member.

KM#2 is among the earliest issues from this short-lived series, struck at a time when the republic's own economic infrastructure was virtually nonexistent.