In
Ukraine's history, banknotes denominated in
Ukrainian hryvnia
The or ( ; uk, гривня , : ''hrn''; sign: ₴; code: UAH) has been the national currency of Ukraine since 2 September 1996. The hryvnia is divided into 100 . It is named after a measure of weight used in medieval Kievan Rus'.
Name Etym ...
s (;
ISO 4217 code
ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines alpha codes and numeric codes for the representation of currencies and provides information about the relationships between individual cu ...
: UAH,
symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
:
₴) have been issued during two periods. The first of them took place in 1918 and 1919, when the
Central Council of Ukraine
The Central Council of Ukraine ( uk, Українська Центральна Рада, ) (also called the Tsentralna Rada or the Central Rada) was the All-Ukrainian council (soviet) that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputie ...
decided to transition from ''
karbovanets'', another currency that circulated in various periods of the country's history, to hryvnia; in practice, the currencies were interchangeable. It became obsolete as the army of the
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...
lost control over its claimed territory as a result of the defeat in the
Ukrainian War of Independence
The Ukrainian War of Independence was a series of conflicts involving many adversaries that lasted from 1917 to 1921 and resulted in the establishment and development of a Ukrainian republic, most of which was later absorbed into the Soviet U ...
. This article covers all hryvnia banknotes issued, or planned to be issued, by government authorities as well as some local issues. Additionally,
shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
() stamps as subdivisions of hryvnia and interest coupons denominated in hryvnias and shahs are also covered here because they were also printed on paper. The second period when Ukrainian hryvnia banknotes appeared was in the times of
post-Soviet independence. In 1991-1996, ''
karbovanets,'' a successor of the
Soviet ruble
The ruble or rouble (russian: рубль) was the currency of the Soviet Union, introduced in 1922, replacing the Imperial Russian ruble. One ruble was divided into 100 kopecks ( – ''kopeyka'', ''kopeyki''). Soviet banknotes and coins were pr ...
(also known in Ukrainian as ''karbovanets''), was circulating in the newly independent country, but the currency experienced
hyperinflation
In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimize their holdings in that currency as t ...
. First post-independence hryvnia banknotes were printed in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
in 1992, but it was only in September 1996 that they entered circulation, following their by hryvnia at a rate of 100,000:1. All issues of hryvnia banknotes that have been printed in 1994 and later were made in Ukraine.
The
National Bank of Ukraine
National Bank of Ukraine ( uk, Національний банк України) or NBU ( uk, НБУ) is the central bank of Ukraine – a government body responsible for unified state policy in the field of country's monetary circulation, includ ...
has issued four banknote series since 1996. Currently, all banknotes in denominations of ₴1, ₴2, ₴5, ₴10, ₴20, ₴50, ₴100, ₴200, ₴500 and ₴1,000 issued after 2003 (i.e. of third and fourth series) are considered
legal tender
Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in pa ...
. 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
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to ...
, though they remain common. There have additionally been four commemorative banknote issues.
Notes issued in Ukraine, including hryvnia notes, can be viewed at the
Museum of Money of the National Bank of Ukraine in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
.
Ukrainian War of Independence
During the later half of 1917, the
Central Council of Ukraine
The Central Council of Ukraine ( uk, Українська Центральна Рада, ) (also called the Tsentralna Rada or the Central Rada) was the All-Ukrainian council (soviet) that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputie ...
sought to gain more autonomy from the
Russian Republic
The Russian Republic,. referred to as the Russian Democratic Federal Republic. in the Decree on the system of government of Russia (1918), 1918 Constitution, was a short-lived state (polity), state which controlled, ''de jure'', the territ ...
, which was ultimately asserted in the
Third Universal, establishing the
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...
(UNR). With the creation of a new state entity, the need of country's own currency became urgent. Thus, in December 1917, UNR introduced ''karbovanets'' as a stopgap measure, until hryvnia was installed as an official currency according to the law of 1 March 1918, at an exchange rate of 2 hryvnias to 1 ''karbovanets'' emitted in 1917 (i.e. 25 and 50 ''karbovanets'')'','' and defined by law to be convertible to gold at a rate of 1 hryvnia = 8.712 ''dolya'' (0.383328 grams, or about 0.0123243
oz t). Hryvnia was additionally subdivided into 100 shah''.'' However, since ''karbovanets'' was circulating at par with the Russian ruble/Soviet ruble until late 1918, it could not be worth more than these issues, which were depreciating due to
hyperinflation
In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimize their holdings in that currency as t ...
. While legislative efforts to limit or outright ban the usage of Russian currencies in Ukraine were made, they only had limited success. Aggravating the situation was the lack of
gold reserves
A gold reserve is the gold held by a national central bank, intended mainly as a guarantee to redeem promises to pay depositors, note holders (e.g. paper money), or trading peers, during the eras of the gold standard, and also as a store of v ...
.
This meant that hryvnia was also losing value by hundreds of per cent per year, and even though Ukrainian currency was spared from the worst of the hyperinflation, maintaining the gold standard proved unfeasible.
1918
State Credit Notes
The law of 1 March 1918 envisaged printing denominations of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 hryvnias, which were to be called State Credit Notes (). Accordingly, on 24 March 1918, UNR signed an agreement by which banknotes were to be printed by the ''
Reichsdruckerei
Bundesdruckerei ("Federal Press", short form: BDr) produces documents and devices for secure identification and offers corresponding services. It is based in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg. In addition to complete passport and ID card syste ...
,'' the German state banknote printer. There were some problems with the contractor, however. Despite ordering 16,000,000 5-hryvnia notes and 9,000,000 20-hryvnia notes, these were not printed; 50-hryvnia notes were not contracted at all. Additionally, all of the submitted designs of Ukrainian hryvnia banknotes have been tampered with in Germany, changing colours without designers' or government's permission. Heorhiy Narbut, who drew the design of the 500-hryvnia note, has lamented its poor quality of execution. The
Ukrainian State
The Ukrainian State ( uk, Українська Держава, translit=Ukrainska Derzhava), sometimes also called the Second Hetmanate ( uk, Другий Гетьманат, translit=Druhyi Hetmanat, link=no), was an anti-Bolshevik government ...
decided to forego 5-hryvnia and 20-hryvnia bills in favour of a new denomination of 2,000 hryvnia, which, however, the Ukrainian government was formally not authorised to issue.
All banknotes contain the following text on the reverse: " ~ ~ ", as mandated by law (here referred to as "State Credit Note notice"). Additionally, the gold standard notice was also printed, which read: "(One) hryvnia contains 8.712 ''dolya'' of pure gold" (). All banknotes had anti-counterfeiting protections, such as a
watermark
A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations ...
and
guilloche pattern.
State Treasury Notes
![3 hryvnia 60 shah coupon 200 hryvnia 1918](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/3_hryvnia_60_shah_coupon_200_hryvnia_1918.jpg)
On 30 March 1918, the
Central Council of Ukraine
The Central Council of Ukraine ( uk, Українська Центральна Рада, ) (also called the Tsentralna Rada or the Central Rada) was the All-Ukrainian council (soviet) that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputie ...
approved a release of 100 million ''karbovanets'' worth of State Treasury Notes (); the sum was increased to 500 million ''karbovanets'' on 12 May, which, in its turn, was doubled on 9 July 1918. While Yakiv Zozulya attributes such rapid increases to the agreement with
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
and
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
, whereby Ukraine granted a 200 million ''karbovanets'' "unlimited-term loan" to each of these countries, thus interpreting it as a sign of
clientelism
Clientelism or client politics is the exchange of goods and services for political support, often involving an implicit or explicit quid-pro-quo. It is closely related to patronage politics and vote buying. Clientelism involves an asymmetric rel ...
, Pavlo Hay-Nyzhnyk said the money was needed to revive the country's economy anyway.
In essence, State Treasury Notes were 4-year treasury
bonds with 3,6%
simple interest
In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distin ...
per annum, paid every six months (on 1 July and 2 January), issued in denominations of 50, 100, 200 and 1,000 hryvnias. They had a unified design prepared by
Heorhiy Narbut
Heorhiy Narbut ( uk, Георгій Іванович Нарбут, in Narbutivka — 23 May 1920 in Kyiv) was the most important Ukrainian graphic designer of the twentieth century.
He is known for designing the Ukrainian National Republic's c ...
, with a roughly square centre, where the value of the bond was written, plus four
coupons
In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product.
Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods
or by retailers, to be used in r ...
on either side of the note, worth respectively 0.90, 1.80, 3.60 and 18 hryvnias each; the only feature that was different between each of these was colours. Due to the enormous size of the notes, as well as due to the location of coupons, they were nicknamed "airplanes" ().
The coupons and the notes were not formally intended to be
legal tender
Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in pa ...
in the sense that the possibility to redeem them at banks was limited by the dates in coupons, but in practice, due to an acute shortage of small change, these pieces of paper were readily cut out and circulated as plain currency, and Zozulya reports that even government agencies accepted both the notes and the coupons for payments. The coupons and the State Treasury Notes were thus described as "surrogate banknotes".
''Shahivky'' fractional currency
Unlike State Credit Notes and State Treasury Notes, ''shahivky'' (named so after
shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
'','' the subdivision of hryvnia, in which the money was denominated) were
postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...
-sized, and indeed they were sometimes used as postage stamps due to the dearth of "real" postage stamps. There was additionally a strong deficit of metals. Therefore, on 18 April 1918, the government authorised to issue paper "coins" of 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 ''shahiv''. The first four denominations have never been issued nor are known to have ever been printed. According to various estimates, the other five ''shahivky'' accounted for about 24-38 million hryvnia in circulation. Among those issued, the 30 ''shahiv'' stamp was rarer than the other denominations.
Unlike the postage staps, which were all imperforate, the five pieces of postage stamp currencies were usually ; 40 and 50 ''shahiv'' imperforate stamps are known to exist but are much rarer than the
perforated
A perforation is a small hole in a thin material or web. There is usually more than one perforation in an organized fashion, where all of the holes collectively are called a ''perforation''. The process of creating perforations is called perfor ...
versions. Additionally, the currency was printed on thicker paper than the stamps, and the notice saying that the post stamps "circulate alongside metal coinage" appeared on the reverse, unlike in stamps, where the other side was blank. Due to their weak protections, ''shahivky'' were often counterfeited, particularly the top two denominations.
Due to their lightness and their propensity to be blown away by the wind, they have earned a
tongue-in-cheek
The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner.
History
The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scott ...
nickname of "butterflies" (), but were also known as "postage stamps" () in reference to their size and appearance. The shops of the time were known to be giving out change in bundles of hundreds of such stamp "coins".
Directorate
Following the fall of the
Ukrainian State
The Ukrainian State ( uk, Українська Держава, translit=Ukrainska Derzhava), sometimes also called the Second Hetmanate ( uk, Другий Гетьманат, translit=Druhyi Hetmanat, link=no), was an anti-Bolshevik government ...
and the return to the
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...
, represented by the
Directorate, the government tried to shift focus to either of the two concurrent currencies in Ukraine, and finally officially declared hryvnias to be the "national currency". However, many more denominations were issued in ''karbovanets'' than in hryvnia in 1919. The government only managed to issue a so-called State Treasury Exchange Note () worth 5 hryvnias with a hastily prepared primitive design. It was the only state-sanctioned banknote ever printed on the territory of
West Ukrainian People's Republic
The West Ukrainian People's Republic (WUPR) or West Ukrainian National Republic (WUNR), known for part of its existence as the Western Oblast of the Ukrainian People's Republic, was a short-lived polity that controlled most of Eastern Gali ...
(ZUNR), or, to be exact, in Stanislaviv (now
Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вськ, translit=Iváno-Frankívśk ), formerly Stanyslaviv ( pl, Stanisławów ; german: Stanislau), is a city located in Western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk O ...
). The banknotes were mostly circulated in
eastern Galicia
Eastern Galicia ( uk, Східна Галичина, Skhidna Galychyna, pl, Galicja Wschodnia, german: Ostgalizien) is a geographical region in Western Ukraine (present day oblasts of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil), having also essential h ...
.
Entering 1920, the circulation of the Ukrainian currency started to be curtailed. Already in January 1920, the
Communists
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...
, who controlled most of Ukraine, ordered the banks to stop accepting all money issued by previous Ukrainian governments, including hryvnias, and removed the obligation to accept Ukrainian currency by private parties, while by the end of the same year, they forbade circulation of all Ukrainian money. It was nevertheless decided to order the last known emission of Ukrainian currency in 1917-1920, i.e. State Credit Notes denominated at 50 and 1,000 hryvnias, which were printed in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. Few proofs () of these banknotes are known to exist, and they became obsolete before they could be ever circulated as Petliura dissolved the Directorate's government in November 1920 in light of the lack of control of Ukrainian territories.
Local issues
Apart from state-issued banknotes, there were also hundreds of
local currency
In economics, a local currency is a currency that can be spent in a particular geographical locality at participating organisations. A regional currency is a form of local currency encompassing a larger geographical area, while a community curren ...
paper currency units (notes, coupons etc.) issued by municipal authorities. According to the ''
Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine
''Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine'' ( uk, Енциклопедія історії України, ЕІУ) is an illustrated encyclopedia on history of Ukraine in 10 volumes. It was published in Ukrainian language in 2003–2013 and 2019Ihor S ...
'', over 300
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
within current Ukrainian borders issued a total of over 1,500 variously named currency substitutes (mostly rubles, ''karbovanets'' and hryvnia). Some of the paper currency denominated in hryvnia is shown in the gallery below.
File:Zolochiv 5 hryvnias 1919.jpg, 5 hryvnia "cashier's certificate" printed in Zolochiv Zolochiv, ( ua, Золочів) may refer to the following places in Ukraine:
* Zolochiv, Lviv Oblast, city in Lviv Oblast
* Zolochiv, Kharkiv Oblast, urban-type settlement in Ukraine
{{set index, populated places in Ukraine ...
File:Kamyanets-Podilskyi 6 hryvnias 1919.jpg, 6 hryvnias printed in Kamyanets-Podilskyi
Kamianets-Podilskyi ( uk, Ка́м'яне́ць-Поді́льський, russian: Каменец-Подольский, Kamenets-Podolskiy, pl, Kamieniec Podolski, ro, Camenița, yi, קאַמענעץ־פּאָדאָלסק / קאַמעניץ, ...
File:Proskuriv-Khmelnytskyi 6 hryvnias 1919.jpg, 6 hryvnias printed in Proskuriv
Khmelnytskyi ( uk, Хмельни́цький, Khmelnytskyi, ), until 1954 Proskuriv ( uk, Проску́рів, links=no ), is a city in western Ukraine, the administrative center for Khmelnytskyi Oblast (region) and Khmelnytskyi Raion (distr ...
(now Khmelnytskyi).
File:Mohyliv (Podilskyi) 6 hryvnias 1919 1st emission.jpg, Mohyliv-Podilskyi
Mohyliv-Podilskyi (, , , ) is a city in the Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion of the Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. Administratively, Mohyliv-Podilskyi is incorporated as a town of regional significance. It also serves as the administrative center of Mohyliv- ...
6 hryvnia note
File:Lutsk 6 hryvnias 1919.jpg, 6 hryvnias issued in Lutsk
Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Luts ...
File:Zinkiv Jews 10 hryvnias 1919.jpg, Zinkiv
Zinkiv (, ) is a city in Poltava Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Zinkiv Raion. Population:
Gallery
File:Будинок (вул. Леніна, Зіньків).JPG, Modern architecture
Modern architecture, or mode ...
Jewish community 10-hryvnia note
File:Ternopil 50 hryvnias 1919.jpg, 50-hryvnia note in Ternopil
Ternópil ( uk, Тернопіль, Ternopil' ; pl, Tarnopol; yi, טאַרנאָפּל, Tarnopl, or ; he, טארנופול (טַרְנוֹפּוֹל), Tarnopol; german: Tarnopol) is a city in the west of Ukraine. Administratively, Ternopi ...
File:Brody district 1 hryvnia 1919.jpg, Brody
Brody ( uk, Броди; russian: Броды, Brodï; pl, Brody; german: Brody; yi, בראָד, Brod) is a city in Zolochiv Raion of Lviv Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is located in the valley of the upper Styr River, approximately ...
1-hryvnia note
Post-Soviet Ukraine
History
As Ukraine was nearing independence in 1991, the government of then
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
began preparations to introduce a new currency named hryvnia.
Leonid Kravchuk
Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk ( uk, Леонід Макарович Кравчук; 10 January 1934 – 10 May 2022) was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed ...
, then
leader of the Supreme Soviet of Ukrainian SSR, ordered in April 1991 to prepare designs for the new national currency. It was initially planned to issue banknotes in denominations of ₴1, ₴3, ₴5, ₴10, ₴25, ₴50, ₴100 and ₴200, mimicking the denominations of the
Soviet ruble
The ruble or rouble (russian: рубль) was the currency of the Soviet Union, introduced in 1922, replacing the Imperial Russian ruble. One ruble was divided into 100 kopecks ( – ''kopeyka'', ''kopeyki''). Soviet banknotes and coins were pr ...
.
The final decision for the design of the currencies was adopted on 11 September 1991. On that day was decided to change planned ₴3 note to ₴2 and ₴25 notes to ₴20, as well as to set aside ₴200 as a reserve denomination. It was also then that the general outline of banknotes was chosen, that is, a prominent person from
Ukraine's history on the obverse and a landmark building on the reverse, in most cases directly related with the person displayed. The choice of the people portrayed met with some reservations, as Kravchuk feared that inclusion of
Ivan Mazepa
Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa (also spelled Mazeppa; uk, Іван Степанович Мазепа, pl, Jan Mazepa Kołodyński; ) was a Ukrainian military, political, and civic leader who served as the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host in 1687–1708. ...
on the banknotes might incense Moscow, and the candidacy of
Mykhailo Hrushevskyi
Mykhailo Serhiiovych Hrushevsky ( uk, Михайло Сергійович Грушевський, Chełm, – Kislovodsk, 24 November 1934) was a Ukrainian academician, politician, historian and statesman who was one of the most important figure ...
was also politically sensitive, but it was approved nevertheless, and has remained constant ever since.
The first series was developed by Ukrainian artists
Vasyl Lopata and Borys Maksymov, who were notably using relatively uncommon depictions of Taras Shevchenko and the
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
rulers. Lopata was drawing the portraits and the buildings, while Maksymov designed the rest of the banknote.
Lopata also proposed his versions of 500 and 1,000 hryvnias (with
Hryhorii Skovoroda
Hryhorii Skovoroda, also Gregory Skovoroda or Grigory Skovoroda ( la, Gregorius Scovoroda; uk, Григорій Савич Сковорода, ''Hryhorii Savych Skovoroda''; russian: Григо́рий Са́ввич Сковорода́, ...
or
Daniel of Galicia
Daniel of Galicia ( uk, Данило Романович (Галицький), Danylo Romanovych (Halytskyi); Old Ruthenian: Данило Романовичъ, ''Danylo Romanovyčъ''; pl, Daniel I Romanowicz Halicki; 1201 – 1264) was a King ...
on the former denomination and
Peter Mogila
Metropolitan Petru Movilă ( ro, Petru Movilă, uk, Петро Симеонович Могила, translit=Petro Symeonovych Mohyla, russian: Пётр Симеонович Могила, translit=Pëtr Simeonovich Mogila, pl, Piotr Mohyła; ...
on the latter), but his idea was not supported.
As the preparations for the first series were made, it became apparent that Ukraine was lacking appropriate domestic facilities to print banknotes. Therefore, banknotes of the first series of hryvnias were made by the
Canadian Bank Note Company
The Canadian Bank Note Company (CBNC) is a Canadian security printing company. It is best known for holding the contract with the Bank of Canada to supply it with Canada's banknotes since 1935. The company's other clients include private busine ...
.
[ Podrobnosti.ua ] 50, 100 and 200 hryvnias (which made part of the second series), after some problems connected with print quality and delays with the Canadian contractor, were eventually ordered from the
Maltese branch of
De La Rue
De La Rue plc (, ) is a British company headquartered in Basingstoke, England, that designs and produces banknotes, secure polymer substrate and banknote security features (including security holograms, security threads and security printe ...
, which was also producing ''
karbovanets'' banknotes until the started operation in 1994.
[ '']Dzerkalo Tyzhnia
''Dzerkalo Tyzhnia'' ( ua, Дзеркало тижня), usually referred to in English as the ''Mirror Weekly'', was one of Ukraine's most influential analytical weekly-publisher newspapers, founded in 1994.[economic crisis
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...]
became so deep and inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...
so bad that it was decided to stick with ''karbovanets''. It was only on 2 September 1996 that the first series of hryvnia banknotes (though only up to 20 hryvnias) was introduced into circulation by the National Bank of Ukraine
National Bank of Ukraine ( uk, Національний банк України) or NBU ( uk, НБУ) is the central bank of Ukraine – a government body responsible for unified state policy in the field of country's monetary circulation, includ ...
(NBU).
Also in 1996, the 1, 50, and 100 hryvnia notes of the second series were introduced. 1 hryvnia note was already produced in Ukraine in the brand new printing factory (as would all subsequent banknotes), while the two higher denominations were still printed by De La Rue and had better security features in comparison with the first series. Most of other denominations went to circulation the following year. 200 hryvnia note, which was seen at the time as worth too much, was only released in 2001, just before the tenth anniversary of Ukraine's independence.
The second series, however, was quickly found to have several drawbacks, so plans to replace it were approved as early as in 1999. Serhiy Tihipko
Serhiy Leonidovych Tihipko ( uk, Сергій Леонідович Тiгiпко; born 13 February 1960) is a Ukrainian politician and finance specialist who was Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine. Tihipko was Minister of Economics in 2000 and subse ...
, then governor of the National Bank of Ukraine
National Bank of Ukraine ( uk, Національний банк України) or NBU ( uk, НБУ) is the central bank of Ukraine – a government body responsible for unified state policy in the field of country's monetary circulation, includ ...
, noted that 2, 10 and 20 hryvnias were hardly distinguishable from each other. Artists have also pointed to several design flaws and inaccuracies in the banknotes (Lopata was, for instance, not happy with the De La Rue banknotes), and the National Bank of Ukraine wanted to introduce new security features. Thus in 2003, ₴20 note became the first banknote of the third series of the Ukrainian hryvnia; other denominations quickly followed suit. It was also then that the ₴500 bills, which became among the most common banknotes in Ukraine, were introduced into circulation.
Refurbished versions of these banknotes, with even more anti-counterfeiting techniques, were released starting from 2014 (₴100), followed by ₴500 regular issue and ₴20 commemorative note in 2016, ₴20 regular bill in 2018 and the rest of the banknotes (including the new ₴1000) in 2019 and early 2020.
Current state
Since October 2020, all banknotes from the first and the second series are withdrawn from circulation and are only exchanged in banks. In addition to that, banknotes from ₴1 to ₴10 are being substituted by a new set of coins, but, like all the other banknotes of the third series and all banknotes from the fourth series, these still remain legal tender. The banknotes use cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
as a substrate, however, the ₴20 commemorative banknote was the first to use linen
Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.
Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...
fibres. As for regular circulation banknote, the ₴1000 banknote includes 20% linen
Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.
Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...
.
According to the data provided by the NBU, as of 1 July 2021, almost 2,94 billion notes worth more than ₴580 billion are in circulation. Almost a quarter of all banknotes are in ₴200 notes, followed closely by ₴500 notes. ₴1 notes are also relatively common, even as these were initially circulating alongside (big) 1 hryvnia coins and, since 2018, are increasingly substituted by new (smaller) coins
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to ...
. On the other hand, banknotes from ₴2 to ₴20 are relatively rare compared with other denominations, at about 5% of the total quantity of banknotes each.
The detected number of counterfeit
To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...
hryvnia banknotes was hovering around 3 forged bills per 1 million genuine ones in 2015-2019, which sharply increased to 5.5 counterfeit banknotes per million the following year, which the NBU attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The vast majority of forgeries (96%) occurred among the third series banknotes, and the majority of the illicitly produced notes belonged to the two highest denominations of the series.
Regular issues
All descriptions taken from the site of the National Bank of Ukraine.
First series
Second series
Third series
}
, Saint Sophia Cathedral
Churches dedicated to Holy Wisdom (''Hagia Sophia'', also rendered ''Saint Sophia'') include:
See also
{{commons category, Holy Wisdom churches
*Sophia of Rome#Churches, for churches named after Saint Sophia of Rome
*Sofia Church (disambigua ...
in Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
Contemporary military equipment, decoration and household items; ''Russkaya Pravda
The ''Russkaya Pravda'' (Rus' Justice, Rus' Truth, or Russian Justice; orv, Правда роусьскаꙗ, ''Pravda Rusĭskaya'' (13th century, 1280), Правда Руськая, ''Pravda Rus'kaya'' (second half of the 15th century); russian: ...
''
, 24 September 2004
, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2014
, -
, align="center" bgcolor="#000000" ,
, align="center" bgcolor="#000000" ,
, ₴5
, 118 × 63
, Blue
, Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Zynovii Mykhailovych Khmelnytskyi ( Ruthenian: Ѕѣнові Богданъ Хмелнiцкiи; modern ua, Богдан Зиновій Михайлович Хмельницький; 6 August 1657) was a Ukrainian military commander and ...
Family coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
, fragment of Khmelnytsky's signature
, A church in the village of Subotiv
Subotiv ( uk, Суботів) is a village (''selo'') in central Ukraine. It is located in Cherkasy Raion (district) of Cherkasy Oblast (province), near the town of Chyhyryn. It belongs to Chyhyryn urban hromada, of which the administration is ...
, Cherkasy Oblast
Cherkasy Oblast ( uk, Черка́ська о́бласть, Cherkaska oblast, ), also referred to as Cherkashchyna ( uk, Черка́щина, ) is an oblast (province) of central Ukraine located along the Dnieper River. The administrative center ...
Cossacks
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
' munitions and ''kleinody'' (symbols of power)
, 14 June 2004
, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2015
, -
, align="center" bgcolor="#000000" ,
, align="center" bgcolor="#000000" ,
, ₴10
, 124 × 66
, Crimson
, Ivan Mazepa
Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa (also spelled Mazeppa; uk, Іван Степанович Мазепа, pl, Jan Mazepa Kołodyński; ) was a Ukrainian military, political, and civic leader who served as the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host in 1687–1708. ...
coat of arms
Pink watermark
A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations ...
field
Quote from one of his ), name=Mazepa
, The Holy Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Perchersk Lavra
Items connected with Mazepa's life
, 1 November 2004
, 2004, 2005
, -
, align="center" bgcolor="#000000" ,
, align="center" bgcolor="#000000" ,
, ₴10
, 124 × 66
, Crimson
, Ivan Mazepa
Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa (also spelled Mazeppa; uk, Іван Степанович Мазепа, pl, Jan Mazepa Kołodyński; ) was a Ukrainian military, political, and civic leader who served as the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host in 1687–1708. ...
coat of arms
White watermark
A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations ...
field
Quote from one of his
, The Holy Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Perchersk Lavra
Items connected with Mazepa's life
, August 2006
, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2016
, -
, align="center" bgcolor="#000000" ,
, align="center" bgcolor="#000000" ,
, ₴20
, 130 × 69
, Green
, Ivan Franko
Ivan Yakovych Franko (Ukrainian: Іван Якович Франко, pronounced ˈwɑn ˈjɑkowɪtʃ frɐnˈkɔ 27 August 1856 – 28 May 1916) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, interpreter, economist, ...
A mountainous landscape in the background
Facsimile
A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, Old master print, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from ...
from one of his poems
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in a ...
, Lviv Opera and Ballet Theatre
Sculpture symbolising Glory from the theatre's roof in close-up
, 1 December 2003
, 2003, 2005, 2012, 2014, 2017
, rowspan="5" , Current
, -
, align="center" bgcolor="#000000" ,
, align="center" bgcolor="#000000" ,
, ₴50
, 136 × 72
, Violet
, Mykhailo Hrushevskyi
Mykhailo Serhiiovych Hrushevsky ( uk, Михайло Сергійович Грушевський, Chełm, – Kislovodsk, 24 November 1934) was a Ukrainian academician, politician, historian and statesman who was one of the most important figure ...
Ornaments from Hrushevskyi's '' History of Ukraine-Rus'''
, The Central Council of Ukraine
The Central Council of Ukraine ( uk, Українська Центральна Рада, ) (also called the Tsentralna Rada or the Central Rada) was the All-Ukrainian council (soviet) that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputie ...
building (currently Teacher's House in Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
)
Statues of a peasant and a worker
, 29 March 2004
, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2014
, -
, align="center" bgcolor="#000000" ,
, align="center" bgcolor="#000000" ,
, ₴100
, 142 × 75
, Yellow, olive
, Taras Shevchenko
Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukraine, Ukrainian p ...
(image according to 1840 self-portrait)
Face of the woman depicted in Shevchenko's
Facsimile
A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, Old master print, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from ...
from one of his poems
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in a ...
, Taras Hill
Taras Hill or Chernecha Hora ( uk, Чернеча гора; literally, Monk's Hill) is a hill on the bank of the Dnieper near Kaniv in Ukraine and an important landmark of the Shevchenko National Preserve where the remains of the famous Ukrainian ...
near Kaniv
Kaniv ( uk, Канів, ) city located in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. The city rests on the Dnieper River, and is also one of the main inland river ports on the Dnieper. It hosts the administration of Kaniv urb ...
, Cherkasy Oblast
Cherkasy Oblast ( uk, Черка́ська о́бласть, Cherkaska oblast, ), also referred to as Cherkashchyna ( uk, Черка́щина, ) is an oblast (province) of central Ukraine located along the Dnieper River. The administrative center ...
and the figures of a kobzar
A ''kobzar'' ( ua, кобзар, pl. kobzari ua, кобзарі) was an itinerant Ukrainian bard who sang to his own accompaniment, played on a multistringed bandura or kobza.
Tradition
Kobzars were often blind and became predominantly so by ...
with his guide boy
, 20 February 2006
, 2006, 2012, 2014
, -
, align="center" bgcolor="#000000" ,
, align="center" bgcolor="#000000" ,
, ₴200
, 148 × 75
, Pink
, Lesya Ukrainka
Lesya Ukrainka ( uk, Леся Українка ; born Larysa Petrivna Kosach, uk, Лариса Петрівна Косач; – ) was one of Ukrainian literature's foremost writers, best known for her poems and plays. She was also an active ...
Outline of her country house in Kolodiazhne, Volyn Oblast
Volyn Oblast ( uk, Воли́нська о́бласть, translit=Volýnsʹka óblastʹ; also referred to as Volyn or Lodomeria) is an oblast (province) in northwestern Ukraine. Its administrative centre is Lutsk. Kovel is the westernmost town an ...
Quote from one of her poems
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in a ...
, Entrance tower of Lutsk Castle, a white stork
The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to en ...
flying
, 28 May 2007
, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014
, -
, align="center" bgcolor="#000000" ,
, align="center" bgcolor="#000000" ,
, ₴500
, 154 × 75
, Brown
, Hryhorii Skovoroda
Hryhorii Skovoroda, also Gregory Skovoroda or Grigory Skovoroda ( la, Gregorius Scovoroda; uk, Григорій Савич Сковорода, ''Hryhorii Savych Skovoroda''; russian: Григо́рий Са́ввич Сковорода́, ...
(1722 – 1794), philosopher and composer
Skovoroda's illustration to his philosophical thesis
, The Kyiv Mohyla Academy
National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( NaUKMA) ( uk, Національний університет «Києво-Могилянська академія» (НаУКМА)) is a national, research university located in Kyiv, Ukraine. The ...
and a negative of its seal in the background
"Pythagorean
Pythagorean, meaning of or pertaining to the ancient Ionian mathematician, philosopher, and music theorist Pythagoras, may refer to:
Philosophy
* Pythagoreanism, the esoteric and metaphysical beliefs purported to have been held by Pythagoras
* Ne ...
triangle" as seen by Skovoroda, often interpreted as a Masonic
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to Fraternity, fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of Stonemasonry, stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their inte ...
symbol
, 15 September 2006
, 2006, 2011, 2014, 2015
, -
, colspan="10" ,
Fourth series
Commemorative issues
Notes
Sources
References
Books
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Portal bar, Money, Numismatics, Ukraine
Banknotes of Ukraine