ddddd ex-Soviet nations set - Armenia

Another new entrant to the set, here we have Armenia represented. Coins from Armenia aren't as hard to find since there are plenty of the Noah's Ark bullion (which have been made since 2011) but I wanted something else for my set. It took some time and it resulted in me acquiring an example from the first year that Armenia issued collector coins after their 1991 independence. The obverse of the coin features the National Coat of Arms. Meanwhile the reverse (slabbed facing forward) has the Sardarapat memorial complex in the foreground while an eagle flies behind it, its wings in the form of the Mountain Ararat. The Battle of Sardarapat (or Sardarabad) was key in maintaining the Armenian nation. Military units and militia were able to hold off the Ottomans in late May of 1918 from advancing to the capital of Yerevan after they had already invaded areas in the eastern part of the country. Later Ottoman defeats and the end of World War 1 allowed Armenia to establish itself as an independent Republic (which would only last two years before being conquered by the Russian Red Army in 1920).

Country Armenia
Denomination 25 Dram
Year 1994
Subject Battle of Sardarapat
Composition Silver 0.999
Weight (gr) 31.1
Diameter (mm) 38
Mintage 3,000
Mint Almar Import Export Co, USA

Link to all coins on national bank website:
https://www.cba.am/en/SitePages/nccommemorativecoins.aspx

 

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Beautiful coin! ...and only 3000.

 

I've seen the ballerina coins and once owned a silver version. They are nice!
By low-carat, do you mean purity of gold? From what I have seen, the gold ballerina coins are often .999 gold, like the linked example:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces94907.html

They do come in a few sizes though. There are also platinum and palladium versions.

 

Nice commemorative coin. Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as the official state religion. Explains a lot about the Ottoman's aggressive posture towards it at that time.

 

I'm looking for the pictures I took about 10 years ago. Frankly, I don't recall much about them. I'm a U.S. collector, but when I saw these, I just had to have them.

I thought the ballerinas were some non-standard alloy (like .800 gold), but maybe not. I'm getting old. Here they are...lousy pictures, but nice coins.

 

That is a nice looking set!
One thing I like about many of the Russian coins is that they clearly state the weight and purity of gold.

 

95% of my coins (including these) are 1500 miles away.

When you say "another entrant to the set", what set is that? One commemorative example of each former Soviet State?

 

Nothing has changed either. Last year was an example.

 

Yes, that's very true. And I'll add, they're lucky Russia is there, which isn't Islamic. That's not to say Stalin wasn't more maniacal than Hitler, just the Soviets weren't engaging in that all-out genocide against Christians.

 

I believe the sets were available in silver, gold and platinum.

 

Thanks! I should look into these more closely and see if I can add to what I have. They're really attractive coins "in hand". I like the "Owl" coin.

 

Yes very attractive coins.

 

Sorry to hear about the long distance; hopefully you will be reunited in the near future.

As far as the "another entrant" comment, yes it is a set of one silver coin from each nation that used to be part of the Soviet Union.

Here is the set so far:

Kazakhstan
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/kazakhstan-–-homeland-of-apples.376054/

Kyrgyzstan
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/picked-up-a-new-eagle.375404/

Tajikistan
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/and-the-stan-set-grows-with-tajikistan.379258/

Estonia
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ddddd-ex-soviet-nations-set-estonia.379486/

Azerbaijan:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ddddd-ex-soviet-nations-set-azerbaijan.380895/

Related disputed territories are covered here (for these I dropped the silver requirement):
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/starting-the-disputed-territories-set.378075/

 

There were some interesting coins issued from the Soviet era.

The first coin commemorates the earthquake in 1989



The next three is somewhat scarce today with mintage of 2,000 each, struck in Leningrad mint in 1991. From my understanding, these were struck as charity coins - but I don't know for what purpose or if that's even true. Note all of them share similar eagle theme.







Similar theme is used in later Armenia commemorative coins.

 

There is a lot to admire about the Russians (and those in the sphere of influence) in coinage. That is only the tip of the iceberg, really.

they are attractive coins, and the alphabet is easy to learn so you can hop right in like I did.

 

Absolutely beautiful coin. The Eastern European issues are beautiful, and exclusive at the same time, without being wildly expensive. Great choice, @ddddd.

 

Here's one I love (but don't have). I need to learn about these coins. They're beautiful!

 

Hungary has some great coins too. I eventually plan to pick up something Hungarian (it's outside the direct scope of the ex-Soviet nations set but they were closely tied in, so it would be a natural fit).

By the way, that coin is available on eBay. Unfortunately this example appears to have some milk spots/haze (fitting for me right ):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/133587933645?hash=item1f1a7619cd:g:JjUAAOSw7Ahfvpb3

Edit: found another website that has one, but I've never heard of this seller before.
http://www.coin-currency.com/product14.html

 

My coins get like that when I drink milk while watching old Mitch Hedberg clips...

 

I might make a purchase from the second link, but I need to check them out first. $62.50 seems like a fair price, but they don't take PayPal.