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,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 same hryvnas, used in Kiev 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 (the beginning of the twentieth century).
History of the hryvnia
The hryvnia is a monetary, counting and weight unitKievan Rus. In Europe, it was called "brand." As already mentioned above, over time, the ornamentation acquired a different meaning, and it began to correspond to the quantity of valuable metal. Since the 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 become known as the "currency of Ukraine", was the same. After the chasing of the ancient 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 rubles, 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 payment instrument, since the scale of the minting of rubles has significantly increased, which since then has become entrenched 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 currencyUkraine, 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 waswas introduced by a special decree of the President of Ukraine 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 released in Canada.
Since September 1996, the process of exchangekaravoventsev-coupons for hryvnia. The ratio was approximately the following: 100,000 karboventsev equated to one hryvnia. In all 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 questionA 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 another reserve banknote of 500 hryvnias, which was introduced in September 2006.
The national currency of Ukraine
The rate of hryvnia against the dollar for the first two yearsafter its introduction was approximately the following: two hryvnia 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 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 reachedIts maximum in 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 predicts the 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.
