Armenia 1997 25000 dram
This specimen was lot 44006 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Costa Mesa, CA, August 2021), where it sold for $432. The catalog description[1] noted, "ARMENIA. 25000 Dram, 1997. NGC PROOF-68 Ultra Cameo. Featuring the bust of Goddess Anahit. A near-perfect Proof with hard mirrored fields and frosted devices."
Wikipedia comments, "Anahit (Armenian: Անահիտ) was the goddess of fertility and healing, wisdom and water in Armenian mythology. In early periods she was the goddess of war. By the 5th century BC she was the main deity in Armenia along with Aramazd. The Armenian goddess Anahit is related to the similar Iranian goddess Anahita. Anahit's worship, most likely borrowed from the Iranians during the Median invasion or the early Achaemenid period, was of paramount significance in Armenia. Artaxias I erected statues of Anahit, and promulgated orders to worship them."
Recorded mintage: 500 proofs including the reeded edge variety.
Specification: 4.3 g, 0.900 fine gold, 18 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Fr-4; KM-75.1.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The August 2021 ANA sale: World and Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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