KARABAKH INTRODUCES CURRENCY

Pan Armenian News
03.09.2005, “PanARMENIAN Network” analytical department

The NKR dram will be considered a means of payment in Armenia too.

During the opening ceremony of “The history of Armenian dram”
exhibition held in Stepanakert, the chairman of the Central Bank
of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan confirmed that in the nearest future
the national currency of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic will be put into
circulation. According to Tigran Sargsyan, Karabakh dram will probably
be considered as a means of payment in Armenia too.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Initially the introduction of Karabakh dram was
aimed at the propaganda of Karabakh state system. Banknotes produced
by unrecognized countries are greatly valued by numismatists all over
the world. Money is an attribute of sovereignty. NKR is an established
country and the existence of own currency will become another symbol of
sovereignty. However it is fairly obvious that in terms of economy the
issue of Karabakh dram does not have special importance. The economy
of Karabakh is fully integrated to the economy of Armenia and the
introduction of Karabakh dram is not aimed at making any economical
changes. This is why it looks like the unexpected announcement of
Tigran Sargsyan simply means that Karabakh dram will serve as some
sort of a substitute to Armenian dram. Being equated to “AMD” “NKD”
will only replace “AMD” in the operations in the home market. It
should be noted that by its design the Karabakh dram is very much
alike Armenian dram.

The decision on the issue of Karabakh currency was made last year. The
banknotes were printed last winter but have not been officially
put into circulation. However, 2 and 10 dram Karabakh coins can be
bought on numismatic auctions through internet shops. For example
the “eBay” internet shop sells 2 dram coins for 0.99 pounds. Thus,
for the government of Nagorno-Karabakh the introduction of NKD is not
only a way to propagandize national state system but also an income
source for the state budget.

Azerbaijan’s reaction to the issue of Karabakh currency was very
painful and was about to provoke diplomatic scandal. Official Baku
applied with protest to the US Department of State and the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of Austria. (The banknotes were printed by the
American “Education Coin Company” and “Austrian State Printing Works”)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan demanded to pass all the
printed banknotes to the Embassy of Azerbaijan. The US Department of
State promised to support in fulfilling the demand. However, it is
known that NKD banknotes are already at the disposal of the Central
Bank of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and not the special services of
Azerbaijan.

>>From unrecognized countries the Prednestrovian Moldavian Republic
is still the only one that has issued its own currency. (Abkhazia
and Osetia use Russian roubles). Tiraspol recently celebrated the
10th anniversary of their currency which is by the way called rouble
and is printed in Poland. At present there are 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100,
200 and 500 rouble banknotes and change coins in the circulation. The
exchange rate is 8 roubles for 1 US dollar. The Prednestrovian case
shows that the currency of an unrecognized country can be established
and Karabakh will soon prove that once again.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress