Etchmiadzin Cathedral - 1,000 dram 2012

Modern Silver Commemorative - 123

This silver collector coin has been issued by the Central bank of Armenia under the international numismatic program “Armenian Monasteries and Churches” and is dedicated to the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin.
The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin is a spiritual and administrative center of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the place of sacred pilgrimage of the Armenians all over the world and the Holy See of Catholicos of All Armenians. The Mother Cathedral, the main building of the Armenian Apostolic Church, is housed there. It was built in 301-303 with the assistance of King Trdat III and Gregory the Illuminator at the place where, according to Gregory the Illuminator’s description, the only begotten Son of God descended (“Etchmiadzin” means “the descent of the only begotten” in Armenian). A three-tier bell-tower was built as an attachment to the west side of the Mother Cathedral in the 17th century. In the 18th century a museum was added as part of the building, where lots of works of the Armenian ecclesiastical art were kept. The Mother Cathedral’s inside walls are decorated with frescos authored by Naghash Hovnatan and, later, by Hovnatan Hovnatanyan.
The coin issued with colored inks. Author of the project – “Coin Invest Trust”, Lichtenstein.
Minted in the Mayer Mint, Germany.

Denomination: 1,000 dram
Metal: Silver 925
Weight: 25.0g
Diameter: 27x47mm
Mintage: up to 2,500 pcs.
Edge: Reeded
Strike quality: Proof

This silver collector coin has been issued by the Central bank of Armenia under the international numismatic program “Armenian Monasteries and Churches” and is dedicated to the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin. The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin is a spiritual and administrative center of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the place of sacred pilgrimage of the Armenians all over the world and the Holy See of Catholicos of All Armenians. The Mother Cathedral, the main building of the Armenian Apostolic Church, is housed there. It was built in 301-303 with the assistance of King Trdat III and Gregory the Illuminator at the place where, according to Gregory the Illuminator’s description, the only begotten Son of God descended (“Etchmiadzin” means “the descent of the only begotten” in Armenian). A three-tier bell-tower was built as an attachment to the west side of the Mother Cathedral in the 17th century. In the 18th century a museum was added as part of the building, where lots of works of the Armenian ecclesiastical art were kept. The Mother Cathedral’s inside walls are decorated with frescos authored by Naghash Hovnatan and, later, by Hovnatan Hovnatanyan.