Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
500 Dram Kingdom of Cilicia
| Issuer | Central Bank of Armenia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1995 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Milled |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The central field features a crowned lion passant to the left, rendered in high relief, grasping an upright patriarchal cross-staff in its right forepaw — the heraldic emblem of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. The lion is surrounded by stylised floral and foliate ornaments arranged in a decorative border, with a beaded inner circle framing the composition. The Armenian-script legend 'ՀԱՅՈՑ ՊԵՏԱԿԱՆՈՒԹՅՈՒՆ * ԿԻԼԻԿՅԱՆ ԹԱԳԱՎՈՐՈՒԹՅՈՒՆ' (Armenian State: Cilician Kingdom) arcs around the periphery, divided by an ornamental rosette stop. A six-petalled rosette motif appears at the base of the field below the lion. The overall design evokes medieval Armenian coinage iconography. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Lettered |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Cilicia was never a kingdom in the conventional Armenian sense — it was a medieval crusader-adjacent state established in the late eleventh century after Armenian nobles fled Seljuk expansion into Anatolia and settled in the Taurus mountain region. The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia lasted from 1198 to 1375, when it fell to the Mamluk Sultanate, making it the last independent Armenian political entity for roughly six centuries.
This 1995 issue belongs to Armenia's earliest commemorative silver program, launched almost immediately after independence from the Soviet Union. The five-ounce format placed it squarely in the prestige collector market rather than any circulation context.