The National Bank of Ukraine, on 3 November 2017, presented the commemorative coin “500 Years since the Beginning of the Reformation.”
Viktor Zaivenko, the director of the NBU Cash Circulation Department, talked about the specifics of the new coin at an official occasion - the “The Reformation: history lessons and tasks for the future” forum.
“The production of commemorative coins not only shows a country’s political sovereignty but also acts as its national brand, which helps others recognize the issuer’s culture, thus facilitating interaction between cultures. The NBU, while paying a lot of attention to Ukrainians’ desire to revive their spirituality, is tolerant of the spiritual and cultural treasures, outstanding personalities and important events of other confessions. That is why the NBU did not omit to mark one very important event in particular, and issued a coin to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation,” he said.
Zaivenko said that issuing a coin requires long and painstaking efforts by many people - from a designer who generates the main idea to an engraver, a chaser, a minter and many other staff members of the NBU Banknote Printing and Minting Works. “We had to hold many consultations to choose the best sketch of the coin. Out of the ten sketches, we chose the one made by Volodymyr Taran, Oleksandr Kharuk, and Serhii Kharuk, Kyiv designers and members of the ArtTrium group. The designers’ creative ideas were made into the coin by the NBU Printing and Minting Works’ team consisting the sculptor Volodymyr Atamanchuk and the computer-aided designer Vitalii Andriianov.”
Zaivenko thanked all those who came up with the idea to issue the coin, and all those who helped the NBU create the coin.
Zaivenko showed the coin to all those who attended the presentation, and said that this 5 hryvnia coin was made of nickel silver in special uncirculated quality, had a weight of 16.5 g, a diameter of 35.0 mm, and a mintage of 40,000 pieces. The coin’s edge is grooved.
On the obverse, against a smooth background is a cross, to the left of which is a conventionalized page from the Bible translated into German by Martin Luther. The Bible’s decorative marker, with a Ukrainian ornament, symbolizes Ukraine’s involvement in the Reformation. To the right of the cross are the five theses that are central to this movement: the Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, praise be to God alone.
On the reverse, against a pad-printed red and black background symbolizing the dramatic nature of those times, is a crucifix, to the right of which is an image of Martin Luther holding a piece of paper with his theses (pad printing is a type of color printing that imparts uniqueness to these coins).
A video about the coin is available at https://youtu.be/L-6nQQFX3X.