The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) released the country’s highest banknote yet on Oct. 25 – the sky blue Hr 1,000 bill, which is currently worth about $40.
“This banknote is now a valid payment method in Ukraine. It can be freely used for payments in the trading network or to deposit in a bank,” NBU Governor Yakiv Smolii said in a statement.
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According to the NBU, which regulates currency in Ukraine, the introduction of the new banknote will make payments more convenient for citizens and businesses, help reduce operating and cash collection costs for banks and reduce banknote production costs for the state.
The bill portrays Volodymyr Vernadsky, a prominent 19th and 20th-century Ukrainian scientist considered one of the founders of geochemistry, biogeochemistry and radiogeology. He is best known for his works on the biosphere, where he argued that life is a geological force that shapes the earth.
The banknote’s reverse shows Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, which Vernadsky helped create in 1918 and was its first president. The building was built in the 1850s and still stands today in central Kyiv, at 54 Volodymyrska St.
The Hr 1,000 bill is easily distinguished from other Ukrainian banknotes by its light blue color and a slightly larger size. It also has new anti-forgery security elements, like a SPARK optical mark designed as a flower, which changes color from golden to jade when the bill is rotated.
“It’s securely protected. The banknote has 20 modern elements that protect against forgery, including two modern optically variable elements. Anyone can verify its authenticity on their own,” Smolii says.
The Hr 1,000 bill’s design follows the style of the modernized Hr 20, 100 and 500 banknotes. The last time the NBU released a banknote of a new denomination was the Hr 500 in 2016.
The NBU has already sent the first 5 million banknotes to its branches around Ukraine, and other banks will be able to start providing the bill to their clients on Oct. 25.
The NBU also plans to release coins worth Hr 5 by the end of this year and Hr 10 coins in 2020. On Oct. 1, the bank also withdrew 1, 2 and 5 kopiyka coins from circulation, meaning that they can no longer be used for payment. One kopiyka is one-hundredth of a hryvnia.
“I believe in the great future of Ukraine,” Vernadsky’s quote on the new Hr 1,000 bill says.
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