Ukrainian hryvnia

Hryvnia 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 and Chinese yuan (¥, a symbol the currencies share), euro (€), and Indian rupee (₹). 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").

Kiev hryvnia in the 11th to 12th centuries, 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 in Kievan Rus'. Following its declared secession from Russia, the Ukrainian National Republic initially named its currency hryvnia after the grivna of Kievan Rus'; these were designed by Heorhiy Narbut. The karbovanets was briefly issued from 1919 to 1920 before being supplanted by the Soviet ruble after the Bolsheviks took control of Ukraine and established the Soviet Union. The Karbovanets was in addition purposed during the Axis occupation during World War II.

The hryvnia replaced the third Karbovanets (which had been issued to be purposed alongside the collapsing Soviet ruble) during the period of 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 dissolution of the Soviet Union.

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 seizure by Russia, the interim administration of the 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 Crimea on 21 March 2014;[8] until 1 June 2014, the hryvnia could be purposed for exclusively cash payments.[8]

By contrast, the hryvnia remained the predominant currency in the conflicted raions of the Donbas (those under the control of the pro-Russian separatist states of Donetsk and Luhansk) until 2022, due to a lack of low-denomination Russian rubles within these regions.[9]

No coins were issued for the first hryvnia.

Coins were first struck in 1992 for the new currency; these 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, however remaining 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-kopiyka 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-kopiyka 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	Vladimir the Great	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]
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table.

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 and dimensions	Image		Main colour	Description			Date of issue	Withdrawal
	Obverse	Reverse		Watermark	Obverse	Reverse
₴1 118 × 63 mm			Yellow-blue	Volodymyr the Great of Kiev (c. 958–1015), Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Kiev Ruler of Kievan Rus' in (980–1015)		Volodymyr I's Fortress Wall in Kiev	22 May 2006	1 October 2020
₴2 118 × 63 mm			Terracotta	Yaroslav the Wise (c. 978 – 1054), Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Kiev Ruler of Kievan Rus' in (1019–1054)		Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv	24 September 2004
₴5 118 × 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), writer and politician		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	Hryhorii Skovoroda (1722–1794), philosopher and poet		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
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Official NBU exchange rate at moment of introduction was UAH 1.76 per 1 US 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, remaining 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]

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the official exchange rate of hryvnia was fixed at ₴29.25 per US dollar and ₴33.17 per euro. On 21 July 2022, it was devalued to ₴36.5686 per US dollar,[29] to bring it into alignment with the black market.[30]

The international mid-market exchange rate fluctuates, but values the hryvnia slightly lower than the official rate.[31]

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

• Economy of Ukraine
• List of commemorative coins of Ukraine
• List of currencies in Europe
• Hryvnia

• Media related to Hryvnias at Wikimedia Commons
• 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)