* First year of issue, very limited mintage *
Of a maximum authorised mintage of 500,000 coins, only 46,679 were produced (in the final months of 2011, before the release of the 2012 issue). No further 2011 dated coins will be minted.
Authorised by the Armenian Central Bank and manufactured in association with Geiger Edelmetalle GmbH of Leipzig, Germany the Noah’s Ark range of coins are made of 99.9% fine silver.
The obverse features the elegant Armenian Coat of Arms, face value in Armenian Dram, the coins’ weight, purity, year of issue and the inscription “Republic of Armenia” in both Armenian and English.
The reverse shows a depiction of Noah’s Ark, framed by Mount Ararat in the background and a dove clutching a twig from an olive tree in it’s beak.
According to the Book of Genesis, God commanded Noah to build the Ark to save himself, his family and a pair of every species of animal from the great deluge He was about to unleash on the world as punishment for man’s wickedness. As the flood waters receded the Ark came to rest in the mountains of Ararat, a national icon of Armenia.
The story of Noah’s Ark features prominently throughout the writings of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.