Ukrainian hryvnia

Short description: Currency of Ukraine

Ukrainian hryvnia

українська гривня (Ukrainian)
|  |

|

1000 hryvnias banknote| 1 hryvnia coin
ISO 4217
Code| UAH
Number| 980
Exponent| 2
Denominations
Subunit|
1/100| kopiyka (копійка)
Plural| hryvni (nom. pl.), hryven (gen. pl.)
kopiyka (копійка)| kopiyky (nom. pl.), kopiyok (gen. pl.)
Symbol| ₴ or грн
Banknotes|
Freq. used| ₴20, ₴50, ₴100, ₴200, ₴500, ₴1,000
Rarely used| ₴1, ₴2, ₴5, ₴10
Coins|
Freq. used| 10, 50 kopiyok; ₴1, ₴2, ₴5, ₴10
Demographics
User(s)| Ukraine
Issuance
Central bank| National Bank of Ukraine
Website| www.bank.gov.ua/en
Printer| National Bank of Ukraine
Mint| National Bank of Ukraine
Valuation
Inflation| 9.52% (2021 y-o-y)[1]
Source| NBU, 2019, May[2]
Method| CPI

The hryvnia or hryvna (/(hə)ˈrɪvniə/ (hə-)RIV-nee-ə; Ukrainian: гривня Template:IPA-uk, Template:Abbr.: грн hrn; sign: ₴; code: UAH) has been the national currency of Ukraine since 2 September 1996. The hryvnia is subdivided into 100 kopiyok. It is named after a measure of weight used in medieval Kievan Rus.[3]

## Contents

* 1 Name
* 1.1 Etymology
* 1.2 Plural
* 2 Currency sign
* 3 History
* 4 Coins
* 5 Banknotes
* 5.1 Current series
* 6 Exchange rates
* 7 See also
* 8 References
* 9 Bibliography
* 10 External links

## Name

### Etymology

The currency of Kyivan Rus’ in the eleventh century was called grivna. The word is thought to derive from the Slavic griva; c.f. Ukrainian, Russian, Bulgarian, and Serbo-Croatian грива / griva, meaning "mane". It might have indicated something valuable worn around the neck, usually made of silver or gold; c.f. Bulgarian and Serbian grivna (гривна, "bracelet"). Later, the word was used to describe silver or gold ingots of a certain weight; c.f. Ukrainian hryvenyk (гривеник).

### Plural

The nominative plural of hryvnia is hryvni (Ukrainian: гривні), while the genitive plural is hryven’ (Ukrainian: гривень). In Ukrainian, the nominative plural form is used for numbers ending with 2, 3, or 4, as in dvi hryvni (дві гривні, "2 hryvni"), and the genitive plural is used for numbers ending with 5 to 9 and 0, for example sto hryven’ (сто гривень, "100 hryven’"); for numbers ending with 1 the nominative singular form is used, for example dvadciat’ odna hryvnia (двадцять одна гривня, "21 hryvnia"). An exception for this rule is numbers ending in 11, 12, 13 and 14 for which the genitive plural is also used, for example, dvanadciat’ hryven’ (дванадцять гривень, "12 hryven’"). The singular for the subdivision is копійка (kopiyka), the nominative plural is копійки (kopiyky) and the genitive is копійок (kopiyok).

## Currency sign

The hryvnia sign is a cursive Ukrainian letter He (г), with a double horizontal stroke (₴), symbolizing stability, similar to that used in other currency symbols such as the Yen (¥), Euro (€), Indian Rupee (₹), and Chinese Yuan (¥ shares symbol with yen). The sign was encoded as U+20B4 in Unicode 4.1 and released in 2005.[4] It is now supported by most systems. In Ukraine, if the hryvnia sign is unavailable, the Cyrillic abbreviation "грн" is used (which can be transliterated as "hrn").

## History

Kyiv hryvnia in 11–12 century, reproduction by the National Bank of Ukraine

1917 100 karbovanets of the Ukrainian National Republic with 3 languages: Ukrainian, Polish and Yiddish

A currency called hryvnia was used during the Kievan Rus'. In 1917, after the Ukrainian National Republic declared independence from the Russian Empire, the name of the new Ukrainian currency became hryvnia, a revised version of the Kyivan Rus' hryvna. The designer was Heorhiy Narbut.

The hryvnia replaced the karbovanets during the period 2–16 September 1996, at a rate of 1 hryvnia to 100,000 karbovantsiv.[5] The karbovanets was subject to hyperinflation in the early 1990s following the collapse of the USSR.

To a large extent, the introduction of the hryvnia was secretive.[6] The hryvnia was introduced according to a Presidential Decree dated 26 August 1996 that was published on August 29. During the transition period, 2–16 September, both hryvnias and karbovanets were used, but merchants were required to give change only in hryvnias. All bank accounts were converted to hryvnias automatically. During the transition period, 97% of karbovanets were taken out of circulation, including 56% in the first five days of the currency reform.[6] After 16 September 1996, the remaining karbovanets could be exchanged for hryvnias in banks.

The hryvnia was introduced during the period when Viktor Yushchenko was the chairman of National Bank of Ukraine. However, the first banknotes issued bore the signature of the previous National Bank chairman, Vadym Hetman, who resigned in 1993, because the first notes had been printed as early as 1992 by the Canadian Bank Note Company, but it was decided to delay their circulation until the hyperinflation in Ukraine was brought under control.

On 18 March 2014, following its annexation by Russia, the de-facto occupation administration of occupied Republic of Crimea announced that the hryvnia was to be dropped as the region's currency in April 2014.[7] The Russian ruble became the "official" currency in annexed Crimea on 21 March 2014.[8] Until 1 June 2014, the hryvnia could also be used for cash payments only.[8]

By contrast, the hryvnia remains the predominant currency in the conflicted raions of Donbas, i. e. in the Russian-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk.[9]

## Coins

No coins were issued for the first hryvnia.

Coins were first struck in 1992 for the new currency, but were not introduced until September 1996. Initially, coins valued between 1 and 50 kopiyky were issued. In March 1997, ₴1 coins were added. Since 2004, several commemorative ₴1 coins have been struck.

In October 2012, the National Bank of Ukraine announced that it was examining the possibility of withdrawing the 1- and 2-kopiyky coins from circulation.[10] The coins had become too expensive to produce compared to their nominal value. 1- and 2-kopiyky coins were not produced after 2013, but remained in circulation until 1 October 2019.[11]

Also, on 26 October 2012, the National Bank of Ukraine announced it was considering the introduction of a ₴2 coin.[12]

Officially, as of 1 July 2016, 12.4 billion coins, with a face value of ₴1.4 billion were in circulation.[13]

On 1 October 2019, 1, 2 and 5 kopiyky coins ceased to be legal tender. They can be still changed at banks, but bills have to be rounded to the next 0.10-step.[14]

Coins of the Ukrainian Hryvnia (1992–present)[15]

Image  | Value  | Technical parameters  | Description  | Date of
Obverse | Reverse | Diameter | Mass | Composition | Edge | Obverse | Reverse | minting | issue | withdrawal  |  |  | 1 kopiyka  | 16 mm  | 1.5 g  | Stainless steel  | Plain  | Value,
Ornaments  | Ukrainian Trident  | 1992–2016  | 2 September 1996  | Not issued since 1 July 2018.[16] 1-, 2-, and 5-kopiika coins withdrew from general circulation on 1 October 2019.[11] |  |  | 2 kopiyky  | 17.30 mm  | 0.64 g (1992~1996)
1.8 g (2001–)  | aluminium (1992–1996),
stainless steel (2001–)  | 1992–2014  |  |  | 5 kopiyok  | 24 mm  | 4.3 g  | stainless steel  | Reeded  | 1992–2015  |  |  | 10 kopiyok  | 16.3 mm  | 1.7 g  | brass (1992–1996),
aluminium bronze (2001–)  | Reeded  | Value,
Ornaments  | Ukrainian Trident  | 1992~present  | 2 September 1996  | Current  |  |  | 25 kopiyok  | 20.8 mm  | 2.9 g  | Reeded and plain sectors  | 1992–2016  | Not issued since 1 July 2018.[16] 25-kopiika coin ceased to be legal tender in Ukraine and gone out of circulation, effective 1 October 2020.[17][18] |  |  | 50 kopiyok  | 23 mm  | 4.2 g  | 1992~present  | Current  |  |  | 1 hryvnia  | 26 mm  | 7.1 g (1995,1996)
6.9 g (2001–)  | brass (1995, 1996),
aluminium bronze (2001–)  | Inscription: "ОДНА ГРИВНЯ", minted year  | 1995~2013  | 12 March 1997  | Current, but new design introduced in 2018  |  |  | 1 hryvnia  | 26 mm  | 6.8 g (2004–2016)  | Aluminium bronze (2004–2016)  | Plain with incuse lettering ("ОДНА · ГРИВНЯ · Date of issue")  | Inscription: Coat of arms of Ukraine; УКРАЇНА 1 ГРИВНЯ; date of issue inside a decorative wreath  | Half length figure of Volodymyr the Great holding a model church and staff with legend above  | 2004–2016  | 2004
|  | 1 hryvnia  | 18.9 mm  | 3.3 g | Nickel-plated steel | Reeded | Coat of Arms
of Ukraine,
Value,
Ornaments  | Volodymyr the Great of Kyiv  | 2018[16] | Current  |  |  | 2 hryvni  | 20.2 mm  | 4.0 g  | Yaroslav the Wise  |  |  | 5 hryven  | 22.1 mm  | 5.2 g | Segmented (Plain and Reeded edges)  | Bohdan Khmelnytsky  | 2019  |  |  | 10 hryven  | 23.5 mm  | 6.4 g | Nickel plated zinc alloy  | Reeded  | Ivan Mazepa  | 2020[16]

## Banknotes

In 1996, the first series of hryvnia banknotes was introduced into circulation by the National Bank of Ukraine. They were dated 1992 and were in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 hryvnias. The design of the banknotes was developed by Ukrainian artists Vasyl Lopata and Borys Maksymov.[19][20] The one hryvnia banknotes were printed by the Canadian Bank Note Company in 1992. The two, five and ten hryvnia banknotes were printed two years later. The banknotes were stored in Canada until they were put into circulation.[19]

Banknotes of the first series in denominations of 50 and 100 hryvnias also existed but were not introduced because these nominals were not needed in the economic crisis of the mid-1990s.

Also in 1996, the 1, 50, and 100 hryvnia notes of the second series were introduced, with 1 hryvnia dated 1994. The banknotes were designed and printed by Britain's De La Rue.[21] Since the opening of the Mint of the National Bank of Ukraine in cooperation with De La Rue in March 1994, all banknotes have been printed in Ukraine.[21]

Later, higher denominations were added. The 200 hryvnia notes of the second series were introduced in 2001, followed by the 500 hryvnia notes of the third series in 2006, and 1000 hryvnia notes of fourth series in 2019.

The 100 hryvnia denomination is quite common due to its moderately high value. Also common is the 200 and 500 hryvnia, as most Ukrainian ATMs dispense currency in these denominations.

In 2016, the NBU paper factory started producing banknote paper using flax instead of cotton.[22]

In 2019, the National Bank of Ukraine introduced a 1,000 hryvnia banknote and was issued into circulation on 25 October 2019.[23] The introduction of the new banknote was in response to the National Bank of Ukraine's efforts of streamlining the number of coins and banknotes already in circulation. The 1, 2, 5 and 10 hryvnia banknotes will continue to be legal tender alongside its equivalent coins in general circulation, while being withdrawn from circulation from repeated use in commerce.

In 2019, the National Bank of Ukraine introduced a revised 50 hryvnia banknote into circulation on 20 December 2019 and issued a revised 200 hryvnia banknote on 25 February 2020, thereby completing the family of notes which began with the issuance of the 100 hryvnia banknote in 2015.

### Current series

Denomination [1] and dimensions  | Image  | Main colour  | Watermark  | Obverse  | Reverse  | Date of issue  | Withdrawal

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Obverse  | Reverse  | Description

118 × 63 mm  |  |  | Yellow-blue  | Volodymyr the Great of Kyiv (c. 958–1015), Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Kyiv
Ruler of Kyivan Rus' in (980–1015)  | Volodymyr I's Fortress Wall in Kyiv | 22 May 2006  | 1 October 2020

118 × 63 mm  |  |  | Terracotta  | Yaroslav the Wise (c. 978 – 1054), Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Kyiv
Ruler of Kyivan Rus' in (1019–1054)  | Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv  | 24 September 2004

118 × 63 mm  |  |  | Blue  | Bohdan Khmelnytsky (c. 1595–1657), Hetman of Ukraine  | A church in the village of Subotiv  | 14 June 2004
₴10
124 × 66 mm  |  |  | Crimson  | Ivan Mazepa (1639–1709), Hetman of Ukraine  | The Holy Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra  | 1 November 2004
₴20
130 × 69 mm  |  |  | Green  | Ivan Franko (1856–1916), poet and writer  | Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet  | 25 September 2018  | Current
₴50
136 × 72 mm  |  |  | Violet  | Mykhailo Hrushevskyi (1866–1934), historian and politician.  | The Tsentralna Rada building ("House of the Teacher" in Kyiv)  | 20 December 2019
₴100
142 × 75 mm  |  |  | Olive  | Taras Shevchenko (1814–1861), poet and artist  | Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv | 9 March 2015
₴200
148 × 75 mm  |  |  | Pink  | Lesya Ukrainka (1871–1913), poet and writer  | Entrance Tower of Lutsk Castle  | 25 February 2020
₴500
154 × 75 mm  |  |  | Brown  | Gregory Skovoroda (1722–1794), writer and composer  | National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy | 11 April 2016
₴1,000
160 × 75 mm  |  |  | Blue  | Volodymyr Vernadskyi (1863–1945), historian, philosopher, naturalist and scientist  | National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine  | 25 October 2019

## Exchange rates

Official NBU exchange rate at moment of introduction was UAH 1.76 per 1 United States dollar .[24]

Following the Asian financial crisis in 1998, the currency was devalued to UAH 5.6 = USD 1.00 in February 2000. Later, the exchange rate remained relatively stable at around 5.4 hryvnias for 1 US dollar and was fixed to 5.05 hryvnias for 1 US dollar from 21 April 2005 until 21 May 2008. In mid-October 2008 rapid devaluation began, in the course of a global financial crisis that hit Ukraine hard, with the hryvnia dropping 38.4% from UAH 4.85 for 1 US dollar on 23 September 2008 to UAH 7.88 for 1 US dollar on 19 December 2008.[25] After a period of instability, a new peg of 8 hryvnias per US dollar was established, and remained for several years. In 2012, the peg was changed to a managed float (much like that of the Chinese yuan) as the euro and other European countries' currencies weakened against the dollar due to the European debt crisis, and the value in mid-2012 was about ₴8.14 per dollar.

As from 7 February 2014, following political instability in Ukraine, the National Bank of Ukraine changed the hryvnia into a fluctuating/floating currency in an attempt to meet IMF requirements and to try to enforce a stable price for the currency in the Forex market.[26] In 2014 and 2015 the hryvnia lost about 70% of its value against the U.S. dollar, with the currency reaching a record low of ₴33 per dollar in February 2015.[27]

On 31 July 2019, the hryvnia to U.S. dollar exchange rate in the interbank foreign exchange market strengthened to ₴24.98 — the highest level in 3 years.[28]

Hryvnia exchange rate to United States dollar (from 1996) and Euro (from 1999)

## See also

* Economy of Ukraine
* List of commemorative coins of Ukraine
* List of currencies in Europe
* Hryvnia
* Grzywna (unit)

## References

1. ↑ "Ukrania Hryvnia". https://www.statista.com/statistics/296164/ukraine-inflation-rate/.
2. ↑ "Archived". http://www.bank.gov.ua/doccatalog/document?id=30350021.
3. ↑ Langer, Lawrence N. (2002). "Grivna". Historical Dictionary of Medieval Russia. Scarecrow Press. pp. 56–57. ISBN 9780810866188. https://books.google.com/books?id=DlWPEH3dF38C&pg=PA56. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
4. ↑ * Michael Everson's "Proposal to encode the HYRVNIA SIGN and CEDI SIGN in the UCS". 23 April 2004. http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n2743.pdf.
5. ↑ "National Bank of Ukraine". http://www.bank.gov.ua/control/en/publish/printable_article;jsessionid=15111854B1ABFB8B3B2073ED5CB1BD7F?art_id=37482&showTitle=true.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Volodymyr Matvienko. Autograph on Hryvnia" (in uk). http://www.obriy.pib.com.ua/2002/04_02/01.htm.
7. ↑ "Ukrainian hryvnia to be dropped in April: Crimean gov't official". CCTV News America. 18 March 2014. http://english.cntv.cn/program/newsupdate/20140318/104543.shtml.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Crimea enters the rouble zone , ITAR-TASS (1 June 2014)
9. ↑ ""In theory, it is possible to pay with Ukrainian hryvnias, Russian rubles, US dollars, and euros in the DPR and the LPR. However, only the two former currencies are in common use. Their exchange rate has been fixed by the governments, and is 1:2 (one hryvnia is the equivalent of two rubles). However, there is a shortage of low denomination rubles, so the Ukrainian hryvnia is still the most popular means of payment."". 17 June 2015. http://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/osw-commentary/2015-06-17/war-republics-donbas-one-year-after-outbreak-conflict.
10. ↑ "НБУ в ближайшие месяцы рассмотрит вопрос о целесообразности использования 1-2-копеечных монет". https://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/nbu-v-blizhayshie-mesyatsy-rassmotrit-vopros-o-tselesoobraznosti-04102012121300.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "NBU Streamlines Hryvnia Banknote and Coin Denominations". 25 June 2019. https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/natsionalniy-bank-uporyadkovuye-nominalniy-ryad-banknot-i-monet-grivni.
12. ↑ "Error: no `|title=` specified when using {{Cite web}}" (in ru). RBK Ukraina. 26 October 2012. http://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/economic/nbu-rassmotrit-vopros-vvedeniya-v-obrashchenie-2-grivnevoy-26102012163200.Error:+no+`|title=`+specified when+using+{{[[Template:Cite+web|Cite+web]]}}&rft.atitle=&rft.date=26+October+2012&rft.pub=RBK+Ukraina&rft_id=http://www.rbc.ua/rus/news/economic/nbu-rassmotrit-vopros-vvedeniya-v-obrashchenie-2-grivnevoy-26102012163200&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikibooks.org:Finance:Ukrainian_hryvnia">
13. ↑ "Cash_Circulation". October 28, 2019. https://www.bank.gov.ua/admin_uploads/article/Cash_Circulation_eng_2019-10-01.jpg.
14. ↑ "Монетами 1, 2 та 5 копійок не можна розраховуватися з 1 жовтня 2019 року". https://bank.gov.ua/ua/news/all/monetami-1-2-ta-5-kopiyok-ne-mojna-rozrahovuvatisya-z-1-jovtnya-2019-roku.
15. ↑ "Розмінні й обігові монети". https://www.bank.gov.ua/control/uk/currentmoney/chcoin/list.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 "Національний банк презентував нові обігові монети". https://bank.gov.ua/control/uk/publish/article?art_id=65870072&cat_id=55838.
17. ↑ "25-Kopiika Coins and Old Series Hryvnia Banknotes to Cease Being Legal Ten-der from 1 October 2020". 2 Sep 2020. https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/moneti-nominalom-25-kopiyok-ta-banknoti-grivni-starih-zrazkiv-do-2003-roku-perestayut-buti-zasobom-plateju-z-01-jovtnya-2020-roku.
18. ↑ "NBU to Withdraw 25-Kopiika Coins and Hryvnia Banknotes 01 Designed before 2003 from Circulation, Effective 1 October 2020". 30 Sep 2020. https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/z-01-jovtnya-2020-roku-natsionalniy-bank-viluchaye-z-obigu-moneti-25-kopiyok-ta--banknoti-grivni-starih-zrazkiv-do-2003-roku.
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Error: no `|title=` specified when using {{Cite web}}" (in ru). Podrobnosti. 4 September 2006. http://www.podrobnosti.ua/economy/2006/09/04/344955.html.Error:+no+`|title=`+specified when+using+{{[[Template:Cite+web|Cite+web]]}}&rft.atitle=&rft.date=4+September+2006&rft.pub=Podrobnosti&rft_id=http://www.podrobnosti.ua/economy/2006/09/04/344955.html&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikibooks.org:Finance:Ukrainian_hryvnia">
20. ↑ "The man who designed Hryvnia" (in ru). Zerkalo Nedeli. http://www.zn.ua/3000/3150/22377/.
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Hryvnia-Immigrant" (in uk). http://www.dt.ua/2000/2040/54365/.
22. ↑ "NBU Starts Printing Money from Flax – Незалежний АУДИТОР". http://n-auditor.com.ua/en/novini-2/item/36966-nbu-starts-printing-money-from-flax.html.
23. ↑ Brand new 1,000-hryvnia banknote put into circulation on Oct 25 , UNIAN (25 October 2019)
24. ↑ "Результати пошуку". http://bank.gov.ua/control/uk/curmetal/currency/search?formType=searchFormDate&time_step=daily&date=17.09.1996&execute=Виконати.
25. ↑ National Bank of Ukraine , historical exchange rates
26. ↑ "7 лютого 2014 року Національний банк України вводить в обіг пам'ятну монету "Визволення Нікополя від фашистських загарбників"". 7 February 2014. http://www.bank.gov.ua/control/uk/publish/article?art_id=5454079&cat_id=55838.
27. ↑ Ukraine teeters a few steps from chaos , BBC News (5 February 2016)
28. ↑ US dollar in Ukraine costs less than Hr 25 for the first time in 3 years Kyiv Post, July 31, 2019

## Bibliography

## External links

* History of Hryvnia
* National Bank of Ukraine announcement of Hryvnia Sign (in Ukrainian)
* Proposed symbols for hryvnia during design competition (in Ukrainian)
* Detailed Catalog of Ukrainian paper money
* Pictures of hryvnia bills introduced in 1997
* The first Ukrainian Money (1917–1922) Odessa Numismatics Museum
* Ukraine monetary reform. Numismatics (in Russian)
* List of coins of Ukraine (Numista)

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian hryvnia. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Finance:Ukrainian_hryvnia&oldid=3178935"