The Ukrainian hryvnia is the most beautiful currency in the world

Hryvnia — украинская денежная единица can boast many things: an ancient history, the title of the most beautiful currency, and even two variants of the pronunciation of its name. The currency code according to the ISO 4217 standard is UAH, the numeric code is 980.

A brief excursus into the history of the hryvnia

Hryvnia was first mentioned back in Kievan Rus timesIt was known as a badge of honor, a measure of weight, and a coin. The name came from an ornament made of gold, worn around the neck, or on the "hackle". Soon the word "hryvnia" began to be applied as a correspondence to a certain amount of silver, and became the unit of monetary calculation. By the period of the Mongol-Tatar invasion there were already Kiev, Chernigov and Novgorod hryvnia. However, after some time, with the advent of the ruble (equal to half or, according to other sources, a quarter of the hryvnia), it came out of circulation and flowed, again, into the measure of weight.

Restoration from hryvnia oblivion by the Ukrainian side happened already in the twentieth century, and in two attempts. The first, in 1918, was not particularly successful and long-lasting, but September 2, 1996 proved to be a more favorable time. The karbovans and coupons were replaced by a new old currency, drawn by artist Vasily Lopata and made in Canada, sparkling with the image of famous historical figures on the background of the most memorable places of national architecture. It is noteworthy that the hryvnia was ordered to be made back in 1992, but the Ukrainian government took a long time to decide whether to introduce its own monetary symbol or adopt a common one with Russia.

Denominations of the Ukrainian hryvnia

Initially, according to the Soviet model, banknotes in denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 200 hryvnia were planned, but eventually the American model was adopted, by replacing bills 3 and 25 with 2 and 20 respectively. In 2006, the former 500 hryvnia reserve banknote was also put into circulation.

Currently in circulation are coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 kopecks and 1 hryvnia. It is amusing to note that other variants of the name of the Ukrainian exchange coins were "hundredth", "rezana" and "step".

Rise and Formation of the Hryvnia

Despite the long acceptance of the hryvnia and possible fears of citizens' distrust of the exchange, Ukrainian monetary reform was one of the most successful in the world. In the four months since it began (the hryvnia was exchanged for karbovanets at the rate of 1:100,000) the money in the hands of the population has grown considerably in real terms. Since that time the currency has survived three issues, each of which is still valid today.

During the first two years the exchange rate of hryvnia to dollar was 2 hryvnia per dollar, but after the crisis in 1998 the rate went down to 5,5. Since April 2005 the administration of the National Bank of Ukraine for three years maintained a fixed official exchange rate of 5.05 hryvnia per dollar, in June 2008 it rose to 4.85 hryvnia. After that the official exchange rate was subject to frequent changes due to the fact that the National Bank of Ukraine announced a gradual transition from fixed to floating exchange rate (according to the decision of the Council of the National Bank).

At the end of December 2008, as a result of the global financial crisis, the exchange rate had already reached a level of 7.87 hryvnia per US dollar. During 2010, the hryvnia/U.S. dollar exchange rate fluctuated in the narrow range of 7.9-8.0 hryvnia per dollar and at 3.70-3.80 Russian rubles per hryvnia.

Backstage details

— Удивительно, но there are two versions of the pronunciation of the Ukrainian currency, "hryvnia" and "hryvna. The first version is fiercely defended by the Ukrainian side, its opponents are the compilers of the All-Russian Currency Classifier. Each side has its own etymological arguments, so at the moment both versions are equal.

— Hryvnia, created by artist Vasily Lopata in co-authorship with Boris MaximovThe banknote, according to the results of the annual meeting of the Commission on Aesthetics of the International Financial Bank in Switzerland, was recognized as the most beautiful currency in the world. At the same time, there is an opinion that on the bills Vasily Lopata depicted himself, because of the portrait resemblance revealed.

— Hryvnia less loved by counterfeitersThe most counterfeited banknote is the euro or the dollar, but they did not ignore it. The most counterfeited banknote is the banknote in denomination of 20 hryvniaA little behind her fellow sufferers in the size of 10 and 50 hryvnia.

The role of the hryvnia in world trade

The hryvnia, like other post-Soviet currencies, is not a particularly popular currency among traders, so active political events in Ukraine practically do not give stock exchanges a reaction.

Ukrainian hryvnia

Fig. 1. Twenty hryvnias.

Fig. 2. Fifty hryvnias.

Fig. 3. One hundred hryvnias.