A coin which sat in storage for years

Ukraine

(Ukraine in green, Russian occupied territory in light green and rest of Europe / Africa / Asia in grey. From Wikipedia).

Note: Throughout this post – as most posts, where I have quoted other sites, I have left the spelling as it was originally. This has resulted in several different spellings over most of the currency names and several other words.

Ukraine has been called ‘the gates of Europe’ as many people, cultures, tastes and religions have entered Europe through Ukrainian lands. It has also been regarded as ‘the cradle of many peoples and cultures’ because Ukrainians, Poles, Jews, Tatars, Belarusians, Roma, Bulgarians, Greeks, Armenians, Germans and Romanians lived and worked alongside one another for centuries.

We learn from Herodotus that the Scythians, the ancient nomadic people, lived here a few centuries before Christ. They traded with Greeks and fought with Persians. Compatriots of the Greek father of history loved Ukraine’s Black Sea coast as well. When the brilliance of the ancient civilization dimmed, the Slavs entered the historic arena. Archaeological research shows that their ancestral homeland was the Ukrainian land.

Under the influence of Christianity, the Slavic ancestors of the Ukrainians began to search for their place in Medieval Europe. A powerful medieval state called Rus’ land or just Rus’ was born and it developed into Ukrainian lands, meeting its golden age at the turn of the 11th century. According to scientists, about 100,000 people lived in its main city called Kyiv (the modern capital of Ukraine), which exceeded the total then population of London and Paris. Later, in the 13th century, the princes of Rus’ were the first in Europe to meet the Mongol invasion, which undermined the state-building potential of the local nobility.

In the 16th century, the territories of modern Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia and western Russia, all merged into one of the largest and most powerful monarchies in Europe.

In the 18th century, after the fall of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Ukrainian lands became part of two empires — Austrian (later Austro-Hungarian) and Russian. In the upheaval of WWI, Ukraine attempted to build its own nation-state in 1917-1921. Together with the Poles, Ukrainians managed to protect Europe from communism and defeat the Russian Bolshevik troops near Warsaw.

Poland resisted, while Ukraine was reconquered by its neighbours. Until 1991, Ukrainians lived under the power of the totalitarian regime as a constituent part of the communist USSR.

Independence

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the former USSR became 15 separate countries. This included Ukraine.

On August 24, 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR adopted the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine. The path that Ukraine had taken was full of obstacles, and the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine became the culmination of the long struggle of Ukrainians for the right to live in their own state and to build it according to their convictions.

On December 1, 1991, in a nationwide referendum, over 90% of Ukrainians voted for Ukraine’s independence. In Crimea, this number was 54% of those who came to the polls, and in Sevastopol, it was 57%. The parliament’s decision was based on the direct will of the people.

In Crimea, Ukrainian citizens still celebrate Independence Day, albeit under Russian occupation since 2014.

Currency

Under the USSR, Ukrainians used the Rouble. 1 Rouble = 100 Kopecks.

In 1991, following Independence, the government introduced “karbovanets“. Introduced at par with the Rouble, for some time, coupon karbovanets circulated along with Soviet rubles. On 12 November 1992, Ukrainian karbovanets were declared the sole legal tender in Ukraine, both for cash and cashless transactions.

Early on, the country planned a currency restructure. Coins were struck in denominations between one and 50 kopeks during 1992, but not released until 1996. A 1-hryvnia coin was added one year later. Similarly, banknotes had been printed and stockpiled in 1992 by the Canadian Bank Note Company.

The hryvnia replaced the karbovanets during the period 2–16 September 1996, at a rate of 1 hryvnia to 100,000 karbovantsiv. The karbovanets were subject to hyperinflation in the early 1990s following the collapse of the USSR. The new currency contained 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 Kopiiok coins. A 1 hryvnia coin was added one year later. Banknotes consisted of 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 hryvnias. Like almost all currencies, the Hryvnia is decimal with 100 Kopiyok = 1 Hryvnia.

This article from rferl.org talks about the new currency: “A colorful, many-sized new currency called the hryvna began circulating in Ukraine yesterday to a mixed reception of delight and anxiety.

The hryvna — and its subordinate unit, the kopijk — replaces a temporary scrip, the karbovanets. The karbovanets has been in use since 1991 after the Soviet Union’s breakup. The karbovanets — simply the Ukrainian word for “ruble,’ the Russian currency — is known dismissively among Ukrainians as “the coupon.” It is to be phased out quickly, barring unforeseen problems.

One reason for the new currency is convenience. A hryvna will replace 100,000 karbovanets, removing most of the population from the ranks of millionaires but making prices a lot easier to post, read, and calculate.

“Several of the people in line at the banks I visited carried shopping bags of coupons. In Ukraine, money has become a bulky affair in the last several years. The coupon, a currency whose lowest denomination was introduced at one five years ago, quickly became inflated and authorities had to print notes denominated one million.

“People hurried yesterday to pay their utility and telephone bills in the old interval currency, the coupon, unsure of how the conversion would affect payment.

“After four years of coupons, which are quite small and often are compared to Monopoly (play) money by foreigners, the new hryvna banknotes have all the trappings of real money.

“At an exchange point, a man proudly showed me his new five- and 50-hryvna banknotes. ‘I think they’re beautiful,’ he said. “I think it’ll be good.’ “

Ukrainian authorities dipped deep into the pockets of history to come up with the name “hryvna.” A thousand years ago in the medieval Ukrainian state, the hryvna was a silver coin of something less than 500 grams. During the Ukrainian National Republic early in this century, hryvnas were works of art designed by talented artists.

The central bank presently is stabilizing the hryvna’s value at about 1.76 to the U.S. dollar.

Obverse

The obverse of the coin features the state coat of arms of Ukraine, the Tryzub (trident) on a Shield of Ukraine. There are plants either side, oak leaf in front. Two ears of wheat behind. The country name at the top. Year of the issue below.

KM Numbers

Interestingly, the KM numbers of this series are not in order. This can happen for a range of reasons. For instance, as noted, the 1 Hryvnia coin was issued later than the other coins, so has the highest KM number (it is also the largest, so that wouldn’t appear out of place in any case). I haven’t been able to find a reference for why that is, but the coins are listed:

• KM1 is the 10 Kopiiyok*
• KM2 is the 25 Kopiiyok*
• KM3 is the 50 Kopiiyok
• KM4 is the 2 Kopiikas*
• KM5 does not exist (Does anyone know why?)
• KM6 is the 1 Kopiika
• KM7 is the 5 Kopiiok
• KM8 is the 1 Hryvnia*

* 2, 10, 25 Kopiiyok and 1 Hryvnia had variants of their KM issued. For instance, the 2 Kopiikas was issued as KM4a without a mintmark dated 1992 – 1996 and as KM4b WITH a mintmark from 2001-2018.

If anyone happens to know why the seemingly random order of most of those, I would be curious (and happy to update the post later with a credit to you).

Today’s coin, the 10 Kopiiyok, is a KM1 coin, which I do enjoy, for whatever reason it ended up with that number.

Reverse

The reverse features the denomination in the centre. Ornament of the eight Viburnum leaves with a cluster of four points around.

You might have noticed the 10 Kopiiyok had an asterisk next to it in my list above – there are four different variants of this coin:

(Comparison of the different variants of the 1992 10 Kopiiyok, from Numista. Based on this, I believe my example is the first type KM1.1a: Shield relief, 5 low dots, 6 top dots in 120° triangle and bold writing).

I am a fan of fonts, and I do like the style of the writing on these coins. To me, it feels very 1970s, however it has much older roots. While I can’t find a specific reference for the text on the coins, modern Ukrainian banknotes feature a font created based on the graphics of Heorhiy Narbut – the creator of the Ukrainian state style of 1917–1919, the author of the first hryvnias and shahs of the times of the Ukrainian People’s Republic. The use of this font emphasizes that the banknote is a visual document of Ukrainian statehood.

(Modern Ukrainian banknotes featuring a Heorhiy Narbut style font. From unn.ua).

Recognized as the most important Ukrainian graphic designer of the twentieth century (born 1886, died 1920). Heorhiy Narbut is known for designing the Coat of arms of Ukraine, banknotes and postage stamps. Narbut designed many illustrations in books and magazines, as well as a few typefaces, such as Abetka.

The main digital revivals of his typefaces are by Henadij Zarechnjuk, who created the free typefaces Narbut Abetka, Narbut Classic, Narbut Extra Wide, Narbut Narrow Contrast, and Narbut Whirl between 2001 and 2011. See also Abetka (2016) by Veronica Sinyavskaya and Narbutivka (2016) by Viktoriia Basiuk.

What is your favourite typeface on a coin? Do let us know? Or what is your favourite coin which wasn’t actually released in the year inscribed on it?