 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2022) |
The Ukrainian hryvnia has been the national currency of Ukraine since 1996. It was briefly used in the Ukrainian People's Republic before the karbovanets was adopted as a national currency. The hryvnia is named after the grivna, which was used in Kievan Rus' and other states.
The word “hryvnia” in Kievan Rus' first meant a decoration worn at the nape of the neck, which often served as a measure of weight at the time. The first mention of "hryvnia" in the meaning of currency is found in "The Tale of Bygone Years" between 8th and 9th centuries. [1] The chronicle relates that Prince Oleg the Prophet, coming from the North, began to rule in Kyiv and "established to give the Vikings from Novgorod three hundred hryvnias a year, for peace," indicating that in the hryvnia was used as a measure of weight and counting from the 8th to 9th centuries when conducting trade operations or paying tribute.
In the 11th century, the word "hryvnia" began to be used to refer to weight, with 11th century silver hryvnia coins weighing between 160 and 205 grams appearing in Kievan Rus'.
There were several types of hryvnias, with the most common in circulation called the Kyiv hryvnia. The Kyiv hryvnia existed before the Tatar invasion of Kievan Rus' and had a hexagonal shape which weighed 150 grams and was made of silver. In addition, there were the Novgorod hryvnias, initially known only in north-western lands. The Novgorod hryvnias had the appearance of long silver sticks and weighed 240 grams. The Chernihiv hryvnia was a transitional from the Kyiv hryvnia to the Novgorod hryvnia, and it's shape resembled that of the Kyiv hryvnia while its weight was close to the weight of the Novgorod hryvnia.
The first money made of gold and silver in Ukraine were produced during the rule of Grand Prince of Kiev Vladimir the Great (Volodymyr the Great). These coins had an image of a trident which was used as a symbol of the princes of Kiev. The name of the coins were zlatnyks (gold coins) and sriblianyks (silver coins). The two sides of the golden coin depicted Prince Vladimir and Jesus Christ. The silver coins were minted by Kievan princes as well as in other principalities, including the Principality of Chernigov and Novgorod.
From the 12th to 14th centuries, Kievan Rus' began to decline, with the population and feudals began using silver ingots to replace the deficient gold or silver coins minted by the princes previously. In the mid-14th century, new coins started being minted, and they gradually went out of circulation and remained solely as a unit of counting.
During the Ukrainian Revolution in 1917–1921, the establishment of a national currency was a key priority of the Ukrainian state. On 22 December 1917, the Central Council established Ukraine's state bank. Mykhailo Kryvetskyi was appointed as the first director of the bank. He signed the first banknote (100 karbovanets banknote), issued by Ukrainian People's Republic, on 5 January 1918. One karbovanets equaled to 0.767 grams of gold.
In 100 karbovanets banknotes, a trident was included in the design as a reference to the gold and silver coins minted by Volodymyr the Great, which similarly depicted a trident as a major symbol.
On 1 March 1918, the Central Council introduced a new currency, the hryvnia, consisting of 100 shahs and equaled to 1/2 of the previously issued karbovanets banknote.
In April 1918, Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky reintroduced the karbovanets as the main currency of Ukraine. It consisted of 200 shahs, and denominations of 10, 25, 50, 100, 250 and 1,000 karbovanets were issued.
In 1991, the National Bank of Ukraine started emission of coupon karbovanets. In September 1996, a currency reform was performed by the National Bank of Ukraine and its head Viktor Yushchenko. As a result, a new currency called hryvnia was introduced.
The National Bank of Ukraine issued 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 banknotes, and minted 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 kopiikas.
In early 2020, the National Bank of Ukraine issued 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 banknotes with a plan to stop issuing the 10-hryvnia banknote denomination in June and replacing it with a coin. [2]
On 2 September 2024, the National Bank of Ukraine proposed to rename the kopiika to the historical shah as a part of the derussification campaign. [3]
The peso is the monetary unit of several Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, as well as the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word peso translates to "weight". In most countries of the Americas, the symbol commonly known as dollar sign, "$", was originally used as an abbreviation of "pesos" and later adopted by the dollar. The dollar itself actually originated from the peso or Spanish dollar in the late 18th century. The sign "₱" is used in the Philippines.
The coat of arms of Ukraine is a blue shield with a golden trident. It is colloquially known as the tryzub.
The hryvnia has been the national currency of Ukraine since 2 September 1996. The hryvnia is divided into 100 kopiyok. It is named after a measure of weight used in Kievan Rus'.
The grivna was a currency as well as a measure of weight used in Kievan Rus' and other states in Eastern Europe from the 11th century.
The karbovanets or karbovanet, also known as kupon or coupon, have been a distinct unit of currency in Ukraine during three separate periods of the 20th century. It is also a predecessor currency of today's Ukrainian hryvnia. The karbovanets were subdivided into one hundred kopiykas, but no denominations in kopiykas have ever been issued.
Shah was the name of several currencies used in Ukraine. The name derives from shilling via Polish. The forms shahy and shahiv are declensional plurals of the noun used in denominations, for example, 2 shahy, 20 shahiv.
The ruble or rouble is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the name of the currency of the Russian Empire and, later, of the Soviet Union.
The Swiss franc has been the currency of Liechtenstein since 1920. The Swiss franc is legal tender since Liechtenstein is in a customs and monetary union with Switzerland. The 1980 treaty between Switzerland and Liechtenstein allows Liechtenstein to mint limited amounts of Swiss francs with a Liechtenstein inscription, but only in the form of commemorative coins, and they are not allowed to issue banknotes.
Chervonets is the traditional Russian name for large foreign and domestic gold coins. The name comes from the Russian term червонное золото, meaning 'red gold' – the old name of a high-grade gold type.
Bilhorod Kyivskyi or Belgorod Kiyevsky was a legendary city-castle in Kievan Rus', on the right bank of the Irpin River. The remains of the city is currently located in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine.
The coins of the Swiss franc are the official coins used in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The name of the subunit is centime in French and internationally, Rappen in German, centesimo in Italian, and rap in Romansh. There are coins in denominations of 5 centimes, 10 centimes, 20 centimes, 1⁄2 franc, 1 franc, 2 francs, and 5 francs.
The National Museum of the History of Ukraine (MIST) (Ukrainian: Національний музей історії України) illustrates Ukraine's history from ancient times to the present. It is one of the leading museums in Ukraine. It holds about 800,000 items in its collection, and usually has approximately 22,000 items on permanent display. The museum holds world-famous archaeological, numismatic, ethnographic and weapons collections, examples of decorative and applied arts, manuscripts, prints, paintings and drawings, as well as relics of the Ukrainian national liberation movement of the 20th century.
The National Bank of Ukraine has issued four banknote series since 1996. All banknotes in denominations of ₴1, ₴2, ₴5, ₴10, ₴20, ₴50, ₴100, ₴200, ₴500 and ₴1,000 issued after 2003 are considered legal tender. All of them depict an important person in Ukraine's history on the obverse and a landmark place on the reverse. The lowest four denominations are no longer issued in banknotes and are intended to be gradually substituted by coins, though they remain common. There have been four commemorative banknote issues.
Coins of the Ukrainian hryvnia were first minted in 1992. Coins were first struck in 1992 for the new currency but were not introduced until September 1996. Initially, coins valued between 1 and 50 kopiyok were issued. In March 1997, 1 hryvnia coins were added; they are however rarely seen in circulation. The note of the same value is far more commonly used. Since 2004 several commemorative 1 hryvnia coins have been struck. New coins have been produced annually since then and they make up a valuable aspect of the Ukrainian currency system. Today, circulating coins exist in denominations of 1 kopiyka, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 kopiyok, ₴1, ₴2, ₴5 and ₴10. Also minted are bullion and commemorative coins. All of these are produced by the National Bank of Ukraine.
Monument to Prince Volodymyr, is a monument in Kyiv, dedicated to the Grand Prince of Kyiv Volodymyr the Great, built in 1853. It is located on Volodymyrska Hill, the steep right bank of the Dnipro. It is the oldest sculptural monument, a dominating feature of the Dnipro banks, and one of the city's symbols.
The Museum of Money of the National Bank of Ukraine was officially launched on 24 March 2004 as the Museum of the Ukrainian Branch Office of the State Bank of the USSR. The Museum’s collection reflects the history of money circulation in Ukraine from the ancient times to nowadays. The museum is housed at the National Bank of Ukraine in Kyiv.
Volodymyrska Street is a street in the center of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, which is named after the prince of Kievan Rus' Vladimir the Great and which is one of the oldest streets in the city, and arguably among the oldest constantly inhabited residential street in Europe. There are many educational, culture and government institutions on this street, as well as historical monuments. Four buildings from Volodymyrska Street are depicted on reverses of Ukrainian hryvnia banknotes.
The history of money in Kievan Rus' is divided into two main phases:
Chernihiv hryvnia or Chernigov grivna was a measure of weight and a currency of the Chernihiv principality. It had a very close shape to Kyiv's hryvnia and in weight was as Novgorod's hryvnia.
The 1996 Ukrainian monetary reform was carried out from 2 to 16 September 1996, and oversaw the replacement of the Ukrainian karbovanets with the new Ukrainian hryvnia in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, adopted the same year. Karbovantsiv were exchanged for hryvnias at a rate of 100,000 to 1, with exchanges continuing freely until 1998. The monetary reform helped to launch the political career of Viktor Yushchenko, who oversaw the monetary reform in his capacity as head of the National Bank of Ukraine.
Ukraine currency and coinage | ||
|---|---|---|
| Topics |  | |
| Hryvnia coins | ||
| Hryvnia banknotes | ||
| History | ||