YEREVAN, November 22. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Central Bank has put into circulation today third generation banknotes. The official ceremony was also dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the national currency, the dram.

Speaking at the ceremony Central Bank Chairman Arthur Javadyan said every Armenian citizen realizes that the dram is not just a legal tender, but also an important symbol of independence. According to him, the dram has played a tremendous role in creation of an independent market economy and implementation of an independent monetary policy. Javadyan added that the national currency also played a key role in shaping the financial system of Armenia.

The new so-called composite banknotes with advanced anti-counterfeiting features are made from paper and polymers. They will be put into circulation in stages, since the Central Bank has to check their quality.

The banknotes with face value of 10 thousand, 20 thousand and 50 thousand drams will appear in circulation today, while banknotes with face value of 1000 drams, 2000 drams and 5,000 drams will be put into circulation starting from December 25. The new generation banknotes will be in circulation simultaneously with older banknotes.

Great Armenia poet Paruyr Sevak is depicted on banknotes with face value of 1,000 drams, world chess champion Tigran Petrosyan is depicted on banknotes with face value of 2,000 drams, American Armenian writer William Saroyan is on banknotes with face value of 5,000 drams, great Armenian composer Komitas is on banknotes with face value of 10,000 drams, great Armenian painter Hovhannes Aivazovsky is on banknotes with face value of 20,000 drams and Saint Gregory the Illuminator, the founder of the Armenian Apostolic Church, is depicted on banknotes with face value of 50,000 drams.
The tender announced for printing the new banknotes was won by German company Giesecke & Devrient.-0-