The National Bank of Ukraine, together with the National Sports Committee of the Disabled of Ukraine, on 24 November 2017 presented the commemorative coin “The 15th Summer Paralympic Games. Rio de Janeiro.”

The presentation was attended by Acting Governor Yakiv Smolii; Viktoriia Suzanska, the deputy head of the Numismatic Product and Marketing Division, the NBU Cash Circulation Department; Valerii Sushkevych, the Ukrainian president’s authorized representative for the rights of people with disabilities and the president of the National Sports Committee of the Disabled of Ukraine; Viktor Didukh, the Rio 2016 Paralympic table tennis champion; Mariia Zdoryk, a Rio 2016 Paralympic silver medalist in swimming; representatives of the National Sports Committee of the Disabled of Ukraine, the civil society of people with disabilities, and members of the general public.

Acting Governor Yakiv Smolii said that the NBU had issued the commemorative coin “The 15th Summer Paralympic Games. Rio de Janeiro” to mark the resounding victory of Ukrainian Paralympic athletes in the 15th Summer Paralympic Games.

“As you surely know, 170 Ukrainian athletes competed in the Rio 2016 Paralympics,” he said. “These strong and stout-hearted people have achieved the best result ever since the Ukrainian Paralympic Movement was launched: they won 117 medals in 15 sports, set 119 records in three sports (swimming, athletics and powerlifting), taking third place overall.”

Yakiv Smolii said that the NBU was proud of the accomplishments of Ukrainian Paralympic athletes, their zest for life, and strong desire to win. He also thanked all the athletes, coaches, all those who contribute to Ukraine’s sporting achievements.

Valerii Sushkevych said that working together to produce commemorative coins dedicated to Ukrainian Paralympic athletes had already become a tradition for the NBU and the National Sports Committee of the Disabled of Ukraine.

“The first commemorative coin that was produced jointly by our institutions marked the 2012 Paralympic Games, which were held in the UK, the country where the Paralympic movement originated. The first coin featured a Paralympic athlete shooting a bow. This is no coincidence, since archery was the first sport included in the world Paralympic movement. It took us a long time to decide on the design of the commemorative coin to mark the victory in the Rio Games, which is of great importance to us. It was also very hard to choose which of the 85 medalists should be depicted on the coin, since all the athletes deserved to appear on the coin. After careful consideration, the list was narrowed down to two candidates - the wheelchair fencing champion Anton Datskov and the table tennis champion Viktor Didukh. Photo artists from our media center took pictures of the champions, while the NBU‘s professional designers drew sketches on the basis of the photos. Their painstaking work has produced this commemorative coin that marks Ukraine’s victory. I am very grateful to the NBU for inviting me to this event to honor Ukraine’s victory,” said Sushkevych.

Victor Didukh, the Rio 2016 table tennis champion and the subject of the coin image, said that he was pleased to represent the entire victorious Ukrainian national team. He also assured all those present that all Paralympic athletes would do all they can to promote Ukraine’s name in international sporting events.

Viktoriia Suzanska said that this coin, which commemorates the Summer Paralympic Games held every four years by the International Paralympic Committee, was put into circulation on 21 November 2017. This coin has a face value of 2 hryvnias, and continues the sports series.

The coin is made of nickel silver in special uncirculated quality, has a weight of 12.8 g, a diameter of 31.0 mm, and a mintage of 35,000 pieces. The coin’s edge is grooved.

The coin’s obverse features the symbol of Ukraine’s National Paralympic Committee and a conventionalized Paralympic medal, to the left of which are the legends: ЗОЛОТО 41/СРІБЛО 37/БРОНЗА 39 (gold 41/silver 37/bronze 39).

On the coin’s reverse, against the backdrop of a conventionalized wavy ribbon, is a Paralympic athlete holding a bat in his hand. The NBU’s selling price is UAH 35. These coins can be purchased at the regional sales offices for Ukrainian commemorative coins by placing an advance online order, or at distributing banks (Oschadbank JSC and Ukrgazbank PJSC JSB).

The coin’s sketches were made by Volodymyr Atamanchuk (obverse) and Volodymyr Taran, Oleksandr Kharuk, and Serhii Kharuk (reverse).

The designers’ creative ideas were made into the coin by the sculptors Volodymyr Atamanchuk and Anatolii Demianenko.