Hryvnia - the currency of Ukraine: the history of origin and the current state of affairs

Hryvnia is the national currency of Ukraine. However, very few people know how it appeared, where its name originated and what it is in general. It is necessary to fill this gap in knowledge.

Where did the word "hryvnia" come from?

The name of such a monetary unit as the hryvnia, is consonant with the Sanskrit word, which means "the back of the head." In history, you can find quite a few mentions that our ancestors wore gold hryvnias around their necks - round plates, fastened together by wire. Often, these ornaments were used and as payment for any goods or services. The very name of the "hryvnia" came from these very hryvnas, used in Kievan Rus. Since the founding of the Old Russian state, the hryvnia had three meanings: a measure of weight, a sign of distinction and a coin. The currency of Ukraine under the same name appeared already in the days of the Ukrainian People's Republic (early 20th century).

History of the hryvnia

Hryvnia is a monetary, counting and weight unit of Kievan Rus. In Europe, it was called "brand." As already mentioned above, over time, the decoration has acquired a different meaning, and it began to correspond to the quantity of valuable metal. Since an ingot of silver was composed of a certain number of coins, then the account of the banknotes composing it arose. The hryvnia, in the end, became the main and only payment concept in Russia. Initially, the weight of the monetary unit, which will later be called "the currency of Ukraine", was the same. After the chasing of Old Russian gold and silver pieces ceased, in connection with the receipt of foreign coins, the main form of financial circulation in Kievan Rus began to be called a "monetary hryvnia." Already from the eleventh century in circulation were hexagonal hryvnia, which weighed about 150 g and served as a unit of payment to the Tatar-Mongol yoke. In the thirteenth century, Novgorod ingots of silver began to be called ruble, and this word gradually supplanted the hryvnia. It is believed that this is due to the fact that the latter was cut into several equal parts, which, incidentally, gave the name to the new bank note. Since the fifteenth century, the hryvnia has ceased to be used as a means of payment, as the scale of the minting of rubles has significantly increased, which since then has been consolidated and become the main unit in the monetary-accounting system.

"Revival" of the hryvnia in the twentieth century

In monetary circulation, the hryvnia, as the main currency of Ukraine, was introduced in 1996, on September 2. Prior to this, since 1990, it was added to Soviet rubles in the territory of the Ukrainian SSR and was used as one-off cut-off coupons that were printed on A4 sheets.

Since January 1992, the government has introduced so-called coupons - temporary banknotes of Ukraine, which were nominated in rubles. They were called karbovtsami.

Hryvnia as the official currency of Ukraine was introduced by a special decree of Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma on August 25, 1996. To exchange karbovans to hryvnia, the exchange rate was required. Ukraine, however, was not ready to print a huge number of banknotes, so the first batch was published in Canada.

As early as September 1996, the process of exchanging karbovan-coupons for hryvnia began. The ratio was approximately the following: 100,000 karbovanets were equated to one hryvnia. In all the banks of the country since then, only hryvnias have been issued. The exchange procedure ended in 1998.

Denominations and symbols of notes

The symbol of the currency in question is a Cyrillic letter with two horizontal dashes that symbolize stability. The official reduction of the hryvnia is only "UAH." All other options are considered erroneous. The hryvnia sign was proposed on March 1 in 2004 and received the U + 20B4 code for Unicode . In 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR planned banknotes of such denominations: 200, 100, 50, 25, 10, 5, 3, 1. Later, 3 and 25 were replaced by 2 and 20. Two reserve banknotes with par values of 200 and 5 hryvnias were also provided. By the resolution of 12.02.1996 by the Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the denominations of the hryvnia were supplemented by one additional banknote of 500 hryvnias, which was introduced in September 2006.

The national currency of Ukraine

The exchange rate of the hryvnia against the dollar during the first two years after its introduction was approximately the following: two hryvnias for one US dollar. After a severe crisis in 1998, the ratio quickly fell to five and a half UAH. For the dollar. Since 2005, the National Bank of Ukraine has maintained a stable fixed rate, but after July 2008 it became floating. Approximately at the same time, the following exchange rates were established:

1. Ukrainian hryvnia to ruble: 4 rubles for one hryvnia.

2. The exchange rate of the monetary unit of Ukraine to the euro was six to one.

3. Ukrainian hryvnia against the dollar: one to five.

In the spring of 2014, the exchange rate of the hryvnia to the US currency reached its maximum in the history: almost fifteen to one. But in relation to the Russian ruble slightly fell: now you can buy a hryvnia for three and a half rubles. The National Bank of Ukraine forecasts strengthening of the national currency against the dollar and the euro by the end of this year and promises to maintain the rate no higher than twelve hryvnia for one dollar.