The 500 Dram commemorative banknote, issued in late 2017, represents a combination of the highest level of security and outstanding design techniques. The note is themed around the biblical tale of Noah’s Ark (Mount Ararat in Armenia is widely believed to the final resting place of the Ark), featuring images of a silver reliquary made in 1698 against a background of the Monastery of Etchmiadzin and Mount Ararat. The reverse shows images of fauna and people leaving the Ark. .
The banknote includes a number of security features, woven together with the banknote’s theme – some of which are making their first appearance in a banknote. They include RollingStar® LEAD, which dynamic colour and shifting effects from gold to green, and Galaxy® Security Thread, which matches the colour shift in the LEAD feature and incorporates 3D circles and intricate images of the Ark, 500 and AMD.

The note also features SICPA SPARK® Live True spin, again with a gold to green colour shift, laser cut images of the Ark and a watermark, and is printed on the Hybrid™ paper/polymer substrate.