Unidentified bargain bin find.

I got this coin in a bargain bin for a few cents. I'm not sure of its identity, it is written in an alphabet I don't think i have seen before. The only western writing on it is 2003 on the obverse and 20 on the reverse.

 

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Armenia, 20 Dram. They have their own funky alphabet.

 

http://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces6726.html

 

It's 20 dram Armenia

 

I have trouble accepting that the Caucasus area is part of Europe. I have always associated them with Central Asia. In fact I have Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, etc. in a folder with Iran, Afghanistan and the Central Turkic countries. Though they are technically part of Europe, their history is more or less a part of Central Asia.

 

That area defies easy categorization. If you think about it, eastern Russia goes all the way to China, but that's Europe.

EBay classifies Pakistan with the Middle East, which I don't agree with at all.

 

I place Pakistan in Indo-Asia

 

I think that Armenia and Georgia get grouped in with Europe more because they used to be Christian kingdoms than because of their incorporation in the Russian Empire. I agree on Pakistan, should be grouped in South Asia not Middle East.

 

The United Nations Statistic Division lists Armenia in the Western Asia region. But I don't quite understand why it is important whether a country should be considered European or Asian, Asian or Oceanian, etc.

Christian

 

Because we're coin collectors and we like to classify things.

 

I received one in the mail several years ago as part of a solicitation for something called "Trees of Armenia".

 

Neither do I. I hated High School, and over bearing women, but where the devil do regions figure in?

 

But we collect coins, not certain series of sports cards or stickers where you aim at getting all 200 or so. So we set our collection goals ourselves, and we draw our collecting "lines" ourselves. For example, I collect euro circulation (and commemorative €2) coins but not much in terms of pre-euro pieces from countries "around here". It is me who decides that my Turkish pieces are in the "Europe" or "Asia" albums and boxes ... and whether I collect them at all.

Somebody else may have a collection around some theme - flowers, cars, whatever, from any country. No problem, sort the issuing countries alphabetically. And if you feel like grouping them (continents, sub-continents ...), just make a list of what is where. Continents are overrated.

Christian

 

Actually this is how I collect. I like to complete sets. For some areas I just buy coins I like, but for others I try to complete as much as I can. That's just how my mind works that I like to organize and complete things.