The National Bank of Ukraine put a silver commemorative coin into circulation on September 2 to mark 30 years of the hryvnia currency.
The central bank issued the collector piece under the official title To the 30th Anniversary of the Monetary Reform in Ukraine, assigning it a face value of 1 hryvnia.
Minted from 925 fine silver, the coin contains 31.1 grams of pure precious metal, equivalent to one troy ounce. The issue is decorated with local gold plating and limited to a maximum mintage of 5,000 pieces.
Headquartered in Kyiv, the National Bank of Ukraine functions as the central monetary authority of Ukraine, responsible for regulating banking operations and manufacturing national currency at its Banknote Mint.
Design and historical motifs
The obverse of the new coin reproduces the design of the circulating one-hryvnia coin introduced in 2018. Its reverse features the artwork of the original one-hryvnia circulating coin that was used before 2018, which is now being gradually withdrawn from general circulation.
Andriy Sagach created the main concept and adapted the design for the anniversary piece. Artist Volodymyr Demyanenko designed the obverse, while Vasyl Lopata created the artwork for the reverse.
National Bank of Ukraine Governor Andriy Pyshnyi said the new commemorative issue serves as a reminder of the shared path Ukraine and its currency have traveled over 30 years. He added that the hryvnia has become a symbol of state resilience and that its emergence permanently established the nation's right to independently decide its economic future.
The 1996 monetary reform
The coin commemorates the two-week monetary reform conducted between September 2 and September 16 in 1996. During that period, Ukrainian citizens exchanged temporary kupono-karbovantsi notes for the newly established hryvnia without any quantitative restrictions.
On September 17, 1996, the hryvnia became the sole legal tender across all Ukrainian territory, marking a major milestone in establishing the nation's economic independence. The introduction of the hryvnia ended a period of severe early-1990s hyperinflation associated with the transitional karbovanets currency following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The currency itself derives its name from the medieval monetary unit used in Kievan Rus. It is denoted by the symbol ₴ and international code UAH, with each hryvnia subdivided into 100 kopiyok.
NBU collector coin series
The release builds on a series of recent numismatic projects by the central bank. In May 2026, the National Bank of Ukraine issued an octagonal silver coin with a face value of 10 hryvnias, launching a series dedicated to Ukrainian avant-garde art.
Two commemorative coins issued by the central bank also reached the top 100 entries in the international Coin of the Year competition. Among them, the commemorative coin titled Hold the Line won the award for Most Inspiring Coin and ranked among the top ten coins worldwide.
