This coupon for 1 karbovanets belongs to the very first series of money of independent Ukraine. The note is dated 1991, but the National Bank put these reusable coupons into circulation on 10 January 1992. For a while they circulated alongside the ruble, and from 12 November 1992 the Ukrainian karbovanets became the country’s sole means of payment.

The front shows Lybid, sister of the legendary founders of Kyiv: her figure is taken from the monument unveiled in 1982 for the city’s 1,500th anniversary in Navodnytskyi Park on the bank of the Dnipro. The back shows St Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, a monument of architecture and wall painting from the first half of the 11th century.

All denominations of the 1991 series, from 1 to 100 karbovantsiv, repeat this design and differ in the numeral of value. The karbovanets itself lasted until the monetary reform of 2–16 September 1996, after which the hryvnia became Ukraine’s national currency.

The 1991 coupon for 1 karbovanets is a starting point for a collection of independent Ukraine’s money: the story of the coupon karbovanets, which ended with the hryvnia, begins with this series. AU-UNC condition sits at the edge of uncirculated: there are virtually no signs of circulation, at most one light fold or a faint counting mark.

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