What is UAH currency？
The hryvnia or hryvnya (/(hə)ˈrɪvniə/ (hə-)RIV-nee-ə; Ukrainian: гривня ˈɦrɪu̯nʲɐ, abbr.: грн hrn; sign: ₴; code: UAH) has been the national currency of Ukraine since 2 September 1996. The hryvnia is subdivided into 100 kopiyok. It is named after a measure of weight used in medieval Kievan Rus.
UAH Coins
No coins were issued for the first hryvnia.
Coins were first struck in 1992 for the new currency, but were not introduced until September 1996. Initially, coins valued between 1 and 50 kopiiky 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-kopiiky coins from circulation. The coins had become too expensive to produce compared to their nominal value. 1- and 2-kopiiky coins were not produced after 2013, but remained in circulation until 1 October 2019.
Also, on 26 October 2012, the National Bank of Ukraine announced it was considering the introduction of a ₴2 coin.
Officially, as of 1 July 2016, 12.4 billion coins, with a face value of ₴1.4 billion were in circulation.
UAH Banknotes
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. 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.
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. 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.
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.
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.