1/2 oz Noah's Ark Silver Coin

The 1/2 oz Noah's Ark Silver Coin

The Noah's Ark is Armenia's first and only investment-grade bullion coin, issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia since 2011 and struck in Germany by Leipziger Edelmetallverarbeitung GmbH (LEV), part of the Geiger Edelmetalle group since 2018. The 1/2 oz denomination carries a 200 Dram face value and the same .999 fineness as the rest of the silver range. It is one of the original three sizes launched in 2011, alongside the 1/4 oz and the flagship 1 oz Noah's Ark.

Fractional silver is a thin market: 1/2 oz silver bullion coins are rare, with most mints reserving the size for commemoratives and proofs. That makes the Noah's Ark one of the few sovereign-backed options at this weight, useful for buyers who want smaller divisible units of legal tender silver without moving to private mint rounds.

The series' broader appeal carries over to this size. Noah's Ark coins combine German manufacturing quality with a non-premium price point, ranking among the lowest-premium sovereign-backed silver coins in European markets, and pre-owned examples are frequently sold under the UK and German margin schemes, which keeps the effective VAT cost down for European stackers. Over 5 million Noah's Ark silver coins have been produced since 2011, distributed across more than 20 countries, so this is a niche denomination of a genuinely established series rather than an obscure issue.

1/2 oz Noah's Ark Specifications

The obverse carries the Armenian coat of arms, a shield held by a lion and an eagle representing the ancient Bagratid and Rubenid kingdoms, with face value, fineness, weight, the LEV mint mark, and year of issue, lettered in both Armenian and English. The reverse shows the ark at centre, a white dove carrying an olive branch, and Mount Ararat rising behind a sunrise.

The silver range runs from 1/4 oz to a 5 kg coin, one of the largest regularly produced bullion coins by weight. Silver Noah's Arks are packaged in tubes under the HQC (High Quality Conservation) system, filled with protective gas that prevents tarnishing while the seal remains intact; once a tube is opened the protection ceases, so sealed tubes are worth keeping sealed.

Noah's Ark Tax Treatment by Country

The Noah's Ark is Armenian legal tender, which matters for tax in some jurisdictions but not in the one where stackers most often wish it did.

• United Kingdom: new silver coins attract 20% VAT, but pre-owned Noah's Arks are frequently sold under the margin scheme, where VAT is charged only on the dealer's margin. That makes them among the more tax-efficient silver coins available in the UK, and they are widely stocked by UK dealers for this reason. The coin is not UK legal tender, so CGT applies on gains, unlike a Silver Britannia.
• Germany and the EU: the coin is minted in Leipzig and is a margin-scheme staple in Germany, where differential taxation reduces effective VAT to the dealer's margin rather than the full 19% rate. Treatment varies across other EU states; full local VAT applies where no margin scheme is used.
• United States: no federal sales tax; most states exempt bullion. Capital gains are taxed at the 28% collectibles rate. At .999 fine, the coin sits below the 99.9%+ purity line by rounding convention used for IRA silver, so check custodian listings rather than assuming eligibility.
• Canada / Australia / New Zealand / Singapore: exemption thresholds for silver coins in these countries are set at 99.9%+ purity, which .999 meets; Singapore additionally requires legal tender status, which the coin has.
• Hong Kong: no sales tax, no duty, no CGT.
• Armenia: exempt from VAT as domestic legal tender.

Armenia's Bullion Coin, Struck in Leipzig

Armenia launched the Noah's Ark in 2011 with three silver sizes, adding 5 oz, 10 oz, 1 kg, and 5 kg coins in 2012 and gold versions later in the decade. The arrangement behind it is unusual in the bullion world: Armenia has no modern bullion minting facility, so the Central Bank of Armenia contracts production to LEV in Leipzig, one of Germany's most advanced private mints, using LBMA-certified materials. Most sovereign coins are struck at the issuing country's own national mint; the Noah's Ark is a sovereign coin with a German production line.

The design, by Eduard Kurghinyan, has remained unchanged since launch, a deliberate choice mirroring the Maple Leaf, Philharmonic, and Eagle, where design continuity supports recognition and liquidity. The subject runs deeper than decoration. Armenia officially adopted Christianity in 301 AD, the first nation to do so, and the ark narrative is woven into its national identity. Mount Ararat, where the coin shows the ark resting, lies in modern Turkey, yet it appears on Armenia's coat of arms and on this coin as an enduring cultural claim.

The series grew into a substantial programme: more than 5 million silver coins produced since inception, with the 1 oz coin peaking at 1.66 million pieces in 2021, and distribution across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the UK, the US, and beyond. Proof editions are individually numbered with central bank certificates, their distribution split evenly between the Armenian Central Bank and the European market through Geiger.

Noah's Ark vs Britannia, Maple Leaf, and Philharmonic

Measured against the major sovereign silver coins, the Noah's Ark competes on price rather than features. The Canadian Maple Leaf offers .9999 purity and micro-engraved security marks; the Silver Britannia adds advanced security features and, decisively for UK taxpayers, CGT exemption; the American Silver Eagle has the highest global demand and typically the highest premiums of the group. The Noah's Ark, at .999 with a reeded edge and central bank backing but no modern anti-counterfeiting technology, is consistently one of the lowest-premium sovereign-backed silver coins in European markets.

The closest peer is the Austrian Silver Philharmonic: same .999 purity, EU-minted, and similarly positioned at the low-premium end of the sovereign coin market. The Noah's Ark counters with its margin-scheme availability in the UK and Germany and the HQC gas-sealed tube packaging that keeps coins tarnish-free while sealed.

At the 1/2 oz weight specifically, the comparison set nearly empties out. Fractional silver bullion coins are rare; the majors concentrate on 1 oz, and 1/2 oz silver from sovereign mints is mostly commemorative. A buyer wanting small sovereign silver units chooses between this coin, the even smaller 1/4 oz Noah's Ark, and private mint rounds with no legal tender status. Liquidity is the trade-off to weigh: the series is well distributed in Europe but less liquid in the US than Eagles or Maples, and a fractional denomination narrows the buyer pool further.