The National Bank of Ukraine today presented a new 1-hryvnia banknote and coin.
As a correspondent of "proUA" reports, the coin is the same size as the one currently in circulation, but silver-colored. It is made of aluminum bronze. The reverse depicts the numeral one, and the obverse features a portrait of Volodymyr the Great.
The new 1-hryvnia banknote is the same size as the new "five," otherwise it resembles the old hryvnia - also gray-green in color. The front side features a portrait of Volodymyr the Great, and the reverse shows an image of the City of Volodymyr in Kyiv. The banknote has standard security elements - a watermark, a light watermark element, a two-tone bar code, a security thread, and ultraviolet microelements.
The new 1-hryvnia banknote will be put into circulation from December 1, the coin - from October 25.
To date, 13 million new coins have been minted. Next year they plan to mint another 60 million.
With the introduction of the new 1-hryvnia coins and banknotes into circulation, the NBU is completing the redesign of the national currency. Currently in circulation are new banknotes of 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 hryvnias.
According to acting NBU head Arseniy Yatsenyuk, currently the 5 hryvnia banknote has been replaced by 43%, the 20 hryvnia - by 60, the 50 - by 50. By the end of 2005 the NBU plans to completely finish replacing the banknotes.
The NBU does not plan to change the design of the 100 and 200 hryvnia banknotes in the near future, because "they are not as popular as the smaller denominations."