History of the Ukrainian hryvnia

The word “hryvnia” in Kievan Rus' first meant a decoration worn at the nape of the neck, which often served as a measure of weight at the time.

[1] The chronicle relates that Prince Oleg the Prophet, coming from the North, began to rule in Kyiv and "established to give the Vikings from Novgorod three hundred hryvnias a year, for peace," indicating that in the hryvnia was used as a measure of weight and counting from the 8th to 9th centuries when conducting trade operations or paying tribute.

The Kyiv hryvnia existed before the Tatar invasion of Kievan Rus' and had a hexagonal shape which weighed 150 grams and was made of silver.

In the mid-14th century, new coins started being minted, and they gradually went out of circulation and remained solely as a unit of counting.

On 1 March 1918, the Central Council introduced a new currency, the hryvnia, consisting of 100 shahs and equaled to 1/2 of the previously issued karbovanets banknote.

In September 1996, a currency reform was performed by the National Bank of Ukraine and its head Viktor Yushchenko.

[2] On 2 September 2024, the National Bank of Ukraine proposed to rename the kopiika to the historical shah as a part of the derussification campaign.