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On August 15, 2024, the Central Bank of Armenia puts into circulation “100th birth anniversary of Charles Aznavour” and “125th birth anniversary of Ervand Kochar” silver collector coins.

Collector coin dedicated to the 100th birth anniversary of Charles Aznavour

CHARLES AZNAVOUR (1924–2018), prominent French-Armenian singer, songwriter, film actor, writer, and public figure.

Aznavour was born in Paris to an Armenian immigrant family that escaped the Armenian Genocide.

From a young age he had a strong interest in art. He began his professional career in the 1940s. In 1956 he gained universal recognition after performing at the Olympia concert hall in Paris.

During his musical career, Aznavour wrote and co-wrote more than 1000 songs, including “La mamma”, “La Bohème”, “Hier encore” (“Yesterday, When I Was Young”), “Sa jeunesse” (“The Wine оf Youth”), “She”, “Les Deux Guitares” (“Two guitars”), “Une vie d’amour”, “Ave Maria,” and others, and recorded close to 1400 songs in various languages. Among the songs dedicated to Armenia are “Pour toi Arménie” (“For You, Armenia”), “Ils sont tombés” (“They Fell”), “Tendre Arménie” (Tender Armenia).

Aznavour appeared in more than 90 films and has authored a number of books.

After the devastating Spitak earthquake of 1988, Aznavour founded the Aznavour for Armenia association, and, in 2016, together with his son Nicolas Aznavour, created the Aznavour Foundation with the goal of implementing educational, social, and cultural programs.

He has received numerous state awards and titles, including the French Legion of Honor (knight, officer, and commander ranks), a designation of National Hero of Armenia and the Order of Motherland. Beginning in 2009, Aznavour served as Armenia’s Ambassador to Switzerland and as Armenia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Office at Geneva.

Aznavour’s work is a unique interweaving of poetry, music, and acting. Around 200 million Aznavour CDs have been sold to date.

One of Yerevan’s squares is named after Aznavour, and a monument to him has been erected in Gyumri (sculptor: S. Petrosyan, architect: A. Tarkhanyan, 2002).

Obverse: Order of Motherland awarded to Charles Aznavour, against the background of the eternity sign.

Reverse: portrait of Charles Aznavour against the background of the eternity sign, image of merged flags of the Republic of Armenia and the French Republic.

Designer: Haroutiun Samuelian.

The coin is minted at the Mint of Poland.

Technical spesification

Face value                           1000 dram

Metal/fineness                   silver 925⁰

Weight                                 33,6 g

Diameter                              40,0 mm

Quality                                  proof

Edge                                      ribbed

Quantity of issue                1000 pcs

Year of issue                        2024

Collector coin dedicated to the 125th birth anniversary of Ervand Kochar

ERVAND KOCHAR (Kocharyan, 1899–1979), great Armenian artist, sculptor, founder of the Painting in Space (four-dimensional, kinetic painting), People’s Artist of Armenian SSR (1965) and People’s Artist of the Soviet Union (1976).

From 1909 to 1919, Kochar studied at the Nersisian School in Tbilisi, attended a school for painting and sculpture, and studied at the Free Arts Studios in Moscow.

Kochar’s early works, such as “De Profundis” (1919), “The Adolescent” (1919), and “The Italian Poet” (1922) are notable for their originality and subtle sense of colors.

In 1922, Kochar moved to Constantinople, then to Venice, and then to Paris. From 1923 through 1936, he participated in many exhibitions and held four solo exhibitions. In Paris, Kochar invented Painting in Space, one of the greatest achievements of avant-garde art.

Kochar is known as one of the pioneers of modern art who transformed previously held ideas about modern painting. He brought the highest professionalism to Armenian art, contributed to the overcoming of stereotypes and uniformity, and had a great influence on the development of Armenian visual and aesthetic thought. His works include the painting “The Disaster of War” (1962), “The Eagle of Zvartnots” memorial sculpture (1955, architect: R. Israyelyan), the statues “Muse of Cybernetics” (1972, architect: H. Kochar), “Vardan Mamikonyan” (1975, architect: S. Kurkchyan), and the “David of Sassoun” statue (1959, architect: M. Mazmanyan) which has become a symbol for all Armenians.

The Ervand Kochar Museum (established in 1984) operates in Yerevan. A street in Yerevan and the art center of the city of Hrazdan are named after Kochar.

Kochar’s art is displayed in many museums around the world, but his Painting in Space works can only be seen at the Ervand Kochar Museum and at the National Museum of Modern Art – Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Obverse: Ervand Kochar’s “Portrait of Melineh” (1930) and “Erebuni-Yerevan” (1968).

Reverse: portrait of Ervand Kochar, excerpt from “The Disaster of War” (1962), and “Melancholy” (1959).

Designer: Karen Melikyan.

The coin is minted at the Mint of Poland.

Technical specification

Face value                           100 dram

Metal/fineness                    silver 925⁰

Weight                                  28,28 g

Size                                        28,0 x 40,0 mm

Quality                                  BU

Edge                                      even

Quantity of issue                500 pcs

Year of issue                        2024