500 Dram Artashesyan Dynasty

Issued in 1995 to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Artaxiad dynasty by Artaxias I, who established an independent Armenian kingdom following the collapse of Seleucid power in the region around 190 BC. Tigranes II, the dynasty's most celebrated ruler, would later expand Armenia into a short-lived empire stretching from the Caspian to the Mediterranean — the only period in history when Armenia functioned as a major regional power.

This was among Armenia's earliest commemorative silver issues following independence in 1991, produced while the country was simultaneously managing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and a severe economic blockade.