1/4 oz Noah's Ark Silver Coin

The 1/4 oz Noah's Ark Silver Coin

The 1/4 oz Noah's Ark is one of the few fractional silver coins backed by a sovereign issuer. Fractional silver is rare in the bullion world; most government mints concentrate on the 1 oz size and larger, so a quarter-ounce legal tender silver coin is an unusual product in its own right. The Noah's Ark series has offered this size since the programme launched in 2011, alongside 1/2 oz, 1 oz and larger denominations up to 5 kg.

The coin is Armenian legal tender with a face value of 100 drams, issued under the authority of the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia. It is not struck in Armenia, however. Production happens in Germany at Leipziger Edelmetallverarbeitung GmbH (LEV), the minting subsidiary of the Geiger Edelmetalle group, using LBMA-certified materials. That arrangement, a private German mint producing a foreign sovereign coin, is unusual; most sovereign coins come from the issuing country's own national mint.

The practical case for the quarter-ounce size is divisibility at a low entry price. The case for the Noah's Ark specifically is cost: the series is among the lowest-premium sovereign-backed silver coins available in European markets, helped by German manufacturing, strong EU dealer networks, and favourable margin scheme VAT treatment on pre-owned coins in the UK and Germany. Buyers who want sovereign backing without the premium attached to better-known names like the 1oz silver Maple Leaf often end up here.

1/4 oz Noah's Ark Silver Coin Specifications

The obverse carries the Armenian coat of arms, a shield held by a lion and an eagle, with the face value, fineness, weight, LEV mint mark and year of issue below, in both Armenian and English. The reverse shows Noah's Ark with a dove carrying an olive branch, Mount Ararat rising behind under a sunrise. The 1/4 oz is the smallest silver denomination in a series that runs up through 1/2 oz, 1 oz, 5 oz, 10 oz, 1 kg and 5 kg sizes, all sharing the same design. The reeded edge appears on every denomination.

Noah's Ark Silver Tax Treatment by Country

As a .999 fine legal tender silver coin, the 1/4 oz Noah's Ark meets the purity thresholds for sales tax exemption in most non-EU jurisdictions, but silver does not enjoy gold's VAT exemption in the UK or EU.

• UK: 20% VAT on new coins. Pre-owned Noah's Arks are frequently sold under the VAT margin scheme, where VAT applies only to the dealer's margin, making them among the more tax-efficient silver coins available in the UK. The coin is Armenian legal tender, not UK legal tender, so it is not CGT-exempt; gains are taxable above the annual allowance.
• Germany/EU: Margin scheme (Differenzbesteuerung) treatment in Germany keeps effective tax low on these coins; combined with local manufacture, this makes them a staple of the German market. Elsewhere in the EU, silver attracts full local VAT unless a margin scheme applies.
• US: No federal sales tax; state rules vary, with roughly 35 states exempting bullion. Long-term gains are taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28%.
• Canada: GST/HST exempt, as the coin exceeds the 99.9% purity threshold for silver.
• Australia and New Zealand: .999 silver meets the 99.9% investment-grade threshold, so qualifying coins are GST-free in both countries.
• Hong Kong: No sales tax and no capital gains tax.

Armenia's Bullion Coin Since 2011

The Noah's Ark is Armenia's first and only investment-grade bullion coin, launched in 2011 by the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia. The 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz and 1 oz silver sizes formed the original line-up, with the 5 oz, 10 oz, 1 kg and 5 kg denominations following in 2012. More than 5 million Noah's Ark silver coins have been produced since inception, with distribution across more than 20 countries including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the UK and the US.

The design, by Eduard Kurghinyan, has not changed since launch. That was a deliberate choice mirroring the approach of established series like the Maple Leaf and Philharmonic, where design continuity supports recognition and liquidity. The imagery ties the coin to Armenian national identity: Armenia officially adopted Christianity in 301 AD, the first nation to do so, and Mount Ararat, where the biblical ark is said to have rested, appears on the country's coat of arms. The mountain itself lies in modern Turkey, which gives its depiction on an Armenian coin an enduring cultural and territorial significance.

Production has been German throughout. LEV, the Leipzig facility that strikes the coins, became part of the Geiger Edelmetalle group in 2018, with Geiger handling distribution. Gold Noah's Ark coins joined the programme later, with proof versions in 2017 and bullion-grade gold from September 2020.

1/4 oz Noah's Ark vs the Alternatives

The most direct comparison is within the series itself. The 1oz Noah's Ark silver coin carries a 500 dram face value and a 38.60 mm diameter against the quarter-ounce coin's 100 drams and 20.18 mm. Fractional coins of any series cost more per ounce than their full-ounce siblings because minting costs are similar per coin regardless of size, so the 1/4 oz makes sense for divisibility rather than cost-efficiency. Stackers buying purely for ounces are usually better served by the 1 oz coin.

Against other sovereign silver coins, the Noah's Ark's distinguishing features hold at any size. The silver Canadian Maple Leaf offers higher .9999 purity and micro-engraved security features with stronger global liquidity, but most major series simply do not offer a 1/4 oz silver coin at all; the Maple Leaf, Philharmonic and American Eagle are 1 oz products. That scarcity of fractional sovereign silver is the quarter-ounce Noah's Ark's strongest card. Private mint fractional rounds exist, but they lack legal tender status and central bank backing.

For European buyers, the Noah's Ark's German manufacture and margin scheme availability keep acquisition costs among the lowest of any sovereign-backed silver coin. In the US it is less liquid than Eagles or Maples, though available from major dealers and competitive on premium.