• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Fenntucky Mike

Member: Seasoned Veteran
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,538

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    134

 Content Type 

Journal Entries posted by Fenntucky Mike

  1. Fenntucky Mike

    Take A Look At My New Toy!

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Ukrainian Banknotes (Security Features)
    In part to help enhance a Journal entry I'm currently working on, also to "level up" my current banknote skills and what the heck because it's fun and cool I've added a new contraption to my banknote collecting arsenal, an IR Camera. I've been reading up on Infrared, lights, wavelengths, and cameras for a few weeks now along with researching the IR ink features on banknotes. I was considering constructing my own Infrared station for banknotes but since I had a bunch of Rewards Points through Amazon I figured I'd try this out first.

    The Royal Sovereign Dual Band Infrared Camera! On sale and Available now from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Royal-Sovereign-Infrared-Counterfeit-RCD-4000D/dp/B00S1IKHEC/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Royal+Sovereign+Dual+Band+Infrared+Camera+Counterfeit+Detector+(RCD-4000D)&qid=1616956248&sr=8-1 
    It's nothing special and very lightly made, as most things are today but what do you want for under $35. The only negative would be the size, it would be nice if it was bigger and/or had a taller pedestal so you could view the whole note for imaging purposes. Other than that it's been working great. Dual Band, I'm assuming this means it emits IR on both the 850nm and 940nm wavelengths but in true guy fashion I opened everything up, removed the parts, threw all the packaging out including instructions and then put it together.  I'll never outgrow this instinct. At any rate for modern note collector's equipment such as this is invaluable, one for counterfeits and two to enjoy notes on a whole new level if you want. The first thing that gravitates me towards a note is the design/artistic appeal, then history of the design or subject, security features and finally the economics. 
    So now armed with my books, loupe, UV and IR lights I'm feeling pretty well prepared for now and think I need to simmer down for a few days. But I still want to build my own desk, area or whatever it turns out to be for banknotes that includes bigger/better UV and IR light stations and I might as well work photography in there while I'm at it. More to come...
    Here are a few examples (images) of banknotes placed under UV and IR lighting and scanned. All three of which will display security features on modern notes.
    2020, Zimbabwe $20
    Scan

    UV Light

    IR Light

     
    2005, Ukraine 100 UAH
    Scan

    UV Light

    IR Light

    Ok, there goes my day. Pfft, whom am I kidding, there goes my week. I'll be busy using this thing for a while.
  2. Fenntucky Mike
    Most of my graded notes are in PMG holders, like 99.9%, but on occasion I will pick up a note from an "off brand" slabber or PCGS, not because there is a great note housed in the holder but for the holder itself.  Buy the note not the holder, not in these instances.   I just find it interesting/funny/weird when I see Ukrainian notes housed in "off-brand" holders and since they are all dirt cheap, I'll pick them up from time to time and add them to my collection. 


    Some of these actually have a few nice features which the PMG holders don't, the ACG holder actually had a protective film over the holder (which can be removed) protecting the holder from scratches and rubbing during shipping and while handling. Nice.  The other thing I like about some of these is the information on the label, notes or descriptions on the labels like "With latent imprint "КРБ" at left on front" and "Printing: ISPB-France" are nice to have and really help collectors, I think. I guess the more information on the label the greater the opportunity for a "mechanical error", and probably cost, but you would think that most of the labels are saved as templates for each Country and Pick #, and that the templates can be adjusted as notes come in or by some other method. Displaying letter prefixes as they are printed on the note, in the native language/text, instead of translating them to English would be nice as well.  Sorry got off track there for a moment. 
    Back to the off brands. There are a bunch out there and I'll pick up more from individual companies as they become available, one per is plenty, and the worse the note in the holder the better, I think. It just makes the thought process behind the question of "Why would you slab that note in that holder?" that much more of an enigma.  
    This is probably my favorite.

    Just why? 
    Anyone have any notes in atypical holders? Post'em if you do!
  3. Fenntucky Mike
    It's been a while since I've last talked about the hammer prices of Ukrainian banknotes, and coins for that matter, both continue to command strong prices at auction. This is due to many factors no doubt, such as inflation, individuals still high on the hog with Covid money or generating additional income due to Covid, the war in Ukraine generating interest and sympathy, along with a collector base/demand in general that has been slowly growing, even prior to any of the previous factors already mentioned. As a result of all of this some fantastic notes have come out of hiding along with some collections going up for auction, and now is a fantastic time to see, bid on and sell Ukrainian banknotes. That being said, I've continued to take a beating at auctions but have also come away with some wins. 
    Losers: 
    A nice 25 Karbovantsiv (37a) without serial number or prefix that went for fifty plus. I was outbid by $1 on that one. 

    A 25 Karbovantsiv (P2a), I went with a $150 snipe bid but got beat. 

    I lowballed on this one ($250), and no surprise it went for close to double my bid. Another P# B126b PMG 70 went for very near the same price prior to this one.

    Threw a lowball on this on as well, again it went for more than double my bid of $2,300. A beauty, and EPQ too boot! I thought hard about being more aggressive with my bidding on this one but decided to go a different direction. Whoever got this note did well, this note is better looking than the PMG 64 notes I've seen, and EPQ to boot. 

    This one shocked me, I seriously considered selling my collection for about 30 seconds when I saw this result. Over $250 per, with the juice. 

    2021, 1000 Hryven PMG 68, went for just shy of two hundo. 

    I could continue with many more examples of Ukrainian notes pulling strong prices but time for the wins. 
    Winners:
    I did end up winning a P2a later. It went for more than the fist but stayed under $200 and is in much better condition. 

    Instead of the P37a without serial number I won a P 37a with serial number, an uncirculated note and a beauty! Around $150.

    Instead of being more aggressive with the P 50 (2 Karbowanez) I decided to go for a P4 and a P5 ,uniface front, specimen and won both lots. There was very strong bidding for both lots, the total was north of 500 euros, combined, even with the back specimen not being auctioned.


    Finally, I was able to pick up a 2015, 500 Hryven P# 127as. There were two specimens produced for this issue, one with SPECIMEN in English a second with SPECIMEN (ЗРАЗОК) in Ukrainian. The English version is the much tougher of the two to find, last one I saw was in 2019. The seller was asking moon money and it sat for a few weeks, I made an offer for significantly less and they accepted. Should have gone lower.  Even though my offer was accepted, I was still on the high side of what this note is probably worth but when you only see a note every 4 years or so you have to make a decision. Just over $300.

    How's everyone else doing at auction? Are prices still rising or have they plateaued? 
  4. Fenntucky Mike

    Hey, Now It's 'Bout Time To Set Things Straight

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    1992, First Series Hryvnia
    I have never seen a set of notes and Pick #'s be so mismanaged in all my years as the 100 & 50 Hryven notes of 1992. I recently viewed a 1992, 100 Hryven note up for auction and I was surprised to see the labeling on the note. It was a cancelled note with perforation and listed as Pick # 107B on the label which I agree with for the most part. The reason the labeling was a surprise to me is that TPG's have been calling perforated notes specimens for years now and this was the first time I had viewed a perforated note having not been labeled as a specimen. 'Bout time!

    I have tracked at a minimum five notes of both denominations having been incorrectly labeled IMO, either as a specimen or specimen with the notation "unissued".


    These are the facts as I see them.
    The last edition of the SCWPM only lists Pick #'s 107A & B for these denominations in this series, no specimen P#'s are listed. The SCWPM uses images of specimen notes with red overprint for P#'s 107A & B, this may or may not have lead to some confusion. Especially when showing an image of a specimen but not listing a P# for one. Notes with ЗРАЗОК (SPECIMEN) in red overprint on both sides of the note are specimens and should be labeled as Pick #'s 107As & 107Bs respectively, which they typically are. Notes perforated with "НЕПЛАТІЖНА" (NOT PAYABLE/NON-PAYMENT) are unissued notes that were canceled and sold in commemorative sets. These should be labeled Pick #'s 107A & 107B respectively and should be noted as being "CANCELLED" on the label.  Notes that are not perforated and not a specimen are unissued notes that were not cancelled and somehow made it out of the NBU's vaults. These also should be labeled as Pick #'s 107A & 107B respectively.  The TPG's are so close to getting the labeling correct, the last piece of the puzzle is for them to label the perforated notes as being Unissued - Canceled or Unissued - Perforated - Canceled, something along those lines, and the labeling would finally be correct IMO. Not much can be done about the notes currently out in the world with bad labels but I have probably one or two of each denomination and I think I'll see if PMG will agree to changing the labels due to a "Mechanical Error", if not I may just cut them out and resubmit. 
    I've previously written about the 50 & 100 Hryven notes of 1992 here:
     
  5. Fenntucky Mike
    I was taking a scroll through the NBU's website this morning and stubbed my index finger on the headline "OFFICIAL DENIAL: The 1,000 Hryvnia Banknote Does Not Depict an Unlicensed Font", well now you have my attention! It appears that the NBU Had a minor controversy in regards to the font used on the new 1,000 UAH banknote released in October of last year. There were questions raised as to origin and use of the font on the reverse of the banknote, specifically the phrase "One Thousand hryvnia"  (see below) and an Adobe copyrighted font called Bickham ---script. The Cyrillic versions (see below) were published in 2016. 
     
    It's been a little difficult to follow but here is the gist of it, or at least as I understand it. Bickham ---script was created in 1997 and licensed by Adobe, Bickham ---script was then pirated by a well known Russian font thief who slightly modified it and passed off several versions as original, this stolen and modified font was then apparently found on the NBU Banknote Printing and Minting Works network and was used on the new Ukrainian 1,000 hyvnia banknotes, of which 5 million were printed. Supposedly Adobe confirmed the unlicensed use of the font but I have not been able to find an official statement from them. Now, these news stories are not from what I would call mainstream media outlets so I'm taking all of this info with a grain of salt but there was enough of an outcry that the NBU actually responded to the accusations. The NBU released an official statement basically claiming Multiple Discovery. In their statement the NBU explains that "all the images on the banknotes are author's graphics. Artists who work on their design do not use ready-made drawings or fonts. They themselves create vector graphic design elements, including the lettering of the denomination of the banknote." read the official denial from the NBU here https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/sprostuvannya-na-banknoti-1000-griven-nemaye-nelitsenzovanogo-shriftu .
    Stories like these are one of the reasons I really enjoy collecting the notes and coins of Ukraine, it's like the wild west over there. I have to think that this is not the first time a question has been raised in regards to the font used on a banknote. Not necessarily from Ukraine but in general from all countries, feel free to let me know of any examples. You can bet I'll be paying attention to the next series of 1,000 Hryven banknotes to see if anything changed.

    Hmmmm, my photog skills suck.
    The 1,000 Hryven Banknote was one of 22 nominated for note of the year (2019) by the International Bank Note Society. The Central Bank of Aruba was awarded the top prize for their 100 Florin bill.
  6. Fenntucky Mike
    Uh oh...
    The new UV lights arrived earlier this week, I ordered both through Amazon, one a fluorescent UV light from Banknote World the other a LED UV flashlight. Both seem to be of good quality and I would have no problem recommending either one of them, depending on what you are using them for. Buuuut, we're talking banknotes here and one is better than the other, which will bring the question of "whether or not the label for anP82b in PMG holder is accurate" to a close. For reference, I initially examined the note using a single LED UV light mounted to a loupe. 
    The first test was with the LED UV flashlight, it has a 2 inch array consisting of 51 LED's and emits light with a wavelength of 395 nanometers. Light at a wavelength of 400nm or less is considered invisible (or UV) and is below the visible spectrum. Violet being the color with the shortest wavelength, between 380 - 450nm, is the last color in the visible spectrum, hence UV or beyond violet. It's also of note that just because a light is rated at 395nm not all the light emitted is at that wavelength, there will be a range +-, meaning that some of the energy or light will be in the visible spectrum at this ratting (395nm).  So, I took my five raw "control" notes and examined them in a dark room with the LED UV flashlight. The fluorescence of the latent imprint was clearly visible, especially when compared to the single UV LED in my loupe. The security fibers were much more identifiable along with the background fluorescence in the center of the note. The paper also has a slight red tint using this light. So far so good.
              With LED UV flashlight                                                       With single LED UV light in loupe                                                       Red tint to paper under UV and fluorescent background, gold in color.
                                                                      
    Next is the Banknote World UV light and stand with a 4W 6 inch fluorescent bulb. There was no information on the tube but all similar fluorescent UV light tubes I researched had a wavelength of 365nm, which makes sense, as there is a difference between the 395 LED and this light. I examined the "control" notes under the fluorescent light and the results were even better. The latent imprint was even more visible along with security fibers and fluorescent background. The red tint appearance of the paper is much less/gone.
                    With Loupe                                          With LED UV Flashlight                                         With Fluorescent UV Light, background vivid, latent imprint clear and crisp, all security fibers clearly visible.
                   
    So it seems that a UV light that emits strongest at 365nm is the way to go. The wavelength range for the 365nm tube remains below the visible spectrum so as to not "washout" the note in visible light diminishing the effectiveness of the UV light/fluorescence of the features on the note. Also the LED lights seem to "spotlight" more, whereas the fluorescent tube emitted a more diffused light, more evenly lighting the note. Now, my conclusion has to be that my original method *vigorously inhaled" and I'd better check that P82b again with the better equipment. Here we go.
                  
    The label on the PMG graded note is correct!
    Well, I was wrong about the P82b in the holder. Sorry everyone, false alarm.
    The good news is that this was a lot of fun, I got to learn some new things, I upgraded my light situation, I can now put the note in my registry sets, I didn't send the note in for a label correction which would have been even more embarrassing and PMG was correct. The world makes sense again.
        
  7. Fenntucky Mike

    Which path to take, which pawn to move?

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Ukrainian Banknotes
    So I'm really torn here. As some may know I've been selling off some of my duplicate coins to acquire funds to purchase a particular banknote (Pick 125, 2011 50 Hryven Commemorative), see Journal entry "Right now! Catch that magic moment, do it right here and now?". I've been wrestling with this since July, I've hit the total needed to get this note probably 3 times and each time something else came up, i.e. a coin or a run of banknotes, etc.. We'll here I am again, I hit the target amount to buy the 50 Hryven note and guess what, a slew of notes pop up from multiple sellers that would be great in my collection/s, aghhhhh!  Soooo, now what?  Do I get the 50 Hryven, bid on about 8 different banknotes that are now available in auctions or both. Then if I buy the 50 and place bids on the others, do I make serious bids to try and get all the notes? This is killing me, why, why, why! I think the most sensible thing to do is, again, pass on the 50 Hryven note and place serious bids on the notes I'm eyeballing. I know the 50 will wait but my big fear is that it will continue to climb in price, last I checked it was running around $650. I hate pushing the 50 to the end of the line again, but I think it's the right move, right now. 
    On a side note, one of the latest additions to my collection was this 1920 (No Date) 5 Hryven note with "P" on the back. There are a few varieties/errors with this note. Variety one, large ПЯТЬ (FIVE) on the reverse (about 16mm in length). Variety two, small ПЯТЬ (FIVE) on the reverse (about 13mm in length) which is what my note is. Error one, "P" missing from ГРИВЕНЬ (Hryven) on the back, which is why "With "P" on Back" is denoted on the label of my note. Finally error two, where the Obv and Rev images are inverted. There are no known specimens of this issue, the paper has "mushroom" watermarks. I haven't looked but I'm assuming that Krause does not have a watermark listed for this note and that is why PMG did not call it out on the label. This always bugs me to no end, that PMG and Krause (or whomever) don't communicate more on their own in regards to improving descriptions and/or discoveries (rant over). 
    Note in PMG Holder:

    Varieties:

    Watermarks "mushrooms":

  8. Fenntucky Mike

    Know when to Walk Away

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Ukrainian Banknotes
    Well, I can talk about this now that I'm out and the auction is almost over. A seldom seen Ukrainian bank note popped up for auction recently ( A PICK # 50!), it was in a PMG holder and was in good condition. I felt this was a good time (for me) to place a fairly serious bid on the note, I placed a minimum bid on it last week Wednesday, I was outbid by Friday then waited and bid again yesterday. My last bid was over the auction estimate but was not strong enough as I didn't overtake the current bidder. I thought long and hard about continuing to bid but I decided to put this note on hold, similar to the 50 Hryven Commemorative note (Pick 125) that I've been continually kicking down the road. Once again the main argument to myself is "more is better", meaning that there are several Ukrainian bank notes out there right now that will make for a more complete collection. As I've said previously this is one of two key notes in the series, this and  P125, are note/s I may never get. I don't feel nearly as torn passing on this note as I have on the P125, probably because the P125 is constantly staring me in the face. It's too bad, because this is an awesome note with a great story. We'll meet again Pick 50, oh we'll meet again but right now I just have to walk away.
    Here is the 1942, 2 Karbowanez note, it's a beauty.

    A brief synopsis of the story behind the note is. The note was printed and loaded onto pallets and into boxcars of an awaiting train. The train departed and was in transit from Germany to Ukraine when it was attacked and destroyed (including almost all of the notes) by Ukrainian partisans. If I ever acquire this note I'll do a proper write up on it.. Someday.
  9. Fenntucky Mike

    I Wanna Tell Ya, Hey, I Think You Oughta Know

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    1992, First Series Hryvnia
    The 50 & 100 Hryven banknotes of 1992 (1996) were intended to be part of the first series of Hryvnia banknotes issued by the NBU but neither was released into circulation leaving most collectors with only "specimens" to fight over. Printed by the Canadian Bank Note Company (CBNC), located in Ottawa, Canada, the designs were first drafted by Vasily Lopata and Boris Maksimov in 1991, after which they were altered to make them more "practical" for production by Canadian engraver Yves Baril. Below are images of the original sketches for the 50 & 100 Hryven banknotes of '92, as drawn by the original artists. From Lopata's book "Hope and Disappointment, or the Metamorphosis of the Hryvnia"

    The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) was dissatisfied with the print quality of the first series notes, printed by dry-offset, as well as production delays, and contracted Thomas de la Rue (TDLR) to produce additional 50, 100 & 200 Hryven banknotes of a completely different design to combat these issues. Unfortunately, due to hyperinflation in Ukraine it was decided to let the, at the time, circulating Coupons take the brunt of the crisis as any new currency introduced under such conditions would be doomed. Notes printed by CBNC were loaded into containers and transported by ship from the port of Montreal to Malta where the additional notes printed by TDLR were loaded onto the same vessel and both were transported to Ukraine and held in the underground vaults of the NBU. See Journal Entry "Where did you come from?" for more information.
    There were at least three printings for some of the first series Hryvnia notes. Two and five Hryven notes were printed with the signature of the first Governor of the NBU, Vladimir Matvlenko (1991-92), next, notes bearing the signature of the second Governor, Vadim Hetman (1992-93) were produced for all denominations (1,2,5,10,20,50 & 100 Hryven), and finally notes of the 1,2, 5, 10 & 20 denominations were produced with the signature of the third Governor, Viktor Yushchenko. There are five signature varieties for Yushchenko alone, he was Governor for 7 years, but only one is known on the first series notes. The 50, 100 & 200 Hryven notes printed in parallel by TDLR bore no signatures, similar to the Coupons, some of which were also printed by TDLR. I have only ever seen 50 & 100 Hryven notes with Vadim Hetman's signature, there are no other signature varieties known for these. That there is only one signature variety, the second, out of what could have been a potential three, falls in line with the narrative of production delays, no first signature, and the subsequent ordering of 50, 100 & 200 Hryven notes from TDLR, no third signature.
    First series Hryvnia signatures.

    50 & 100 Hryven notes printed by TDLR.

    Eventually, after nearly six years of planning, producing, and storing the new National currency conditions were right to launch the Hryvnia and release banknotes into circulation. On August 25, 1996 the resolution "The Monetary Reform in Ukraine" was signed into law paving the way for the release of Hryvnia notes by pegging the exchange rate of Karbovanets to Hryvnia at 100,000:1 and establishing a timeline for the new currency to be released, exchanges of Karbovanets for Hryvnia to take place (2 weeks) and the old Coupons to be demonetized. On September 2, 1996 notes in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 & 20 of the first series were released into circulation. Unfortunately, the first series notes quickly fell victim to counterfeiters who, using chemical solutions, removed the ink from lower denomination notes and then printed higher denominations onto the banknote paper which was the same for all denominations in the series. Also released in '96 were the 50 & 100 Hryven notes printed by TDLR in '92 and 1 Hryven notes of the second series which by that time, The Banknote Printing and Minting Works having opened at least one line to produce banknotes in '94, with completion of a state-of-the-art facility in '97, had been printed by the NBU in Ukraine, along with most of the second series notes. Some of the second series notes were printed by TDLR, also in 1994, which were the last notes not printed by the NBU. The 50 & 100 Hryven notes of the first series were never released into circulation.
    Below are examples of the first series Hryvnia specimen notes. Areas of note would be that the 1 Hryvnia only has the serial number printed once as opposed to twice, as on all other denominations in the series. The specimen number is typically found on the back of specimen notes but can be on the face as with the 5 Hryven specimen below or not be present, there does not seem to be any correlation between placement of the specimen number and signature variety yet. Finally, all specimens of this series have the serial number overprinted on top of the overprint "SPECIMEN".

    The 50 & 100 Hryven notes of the first series are listed in The Standard Catalog of World Paper Money's (SCWPM) last edition as P# 107A, 50 Hryven, and P#107B, 100 Hryven, with images of notes with red overprint "SPECIMEN" pictured above the descriptions and P#'s instead of the unissued non-specimen notes. Having images of specimen notes for a non-specimen P# is probably where the confusion with these started. Unissued notes are pretty much impossible to find, if there are even any still in existence, the red overprint notes are somewhat difficult to find but not impossible and the perforated examples are the most available but only turn up a few times a year. The red overprint specimens would have been part of the production of the first series notes and similar to specimens of the other denominations. My belief is that the 50 & 100 Hryven banknotes of the first series were produced along with the other denominations, fulfilling the original order placed with CBNC, and shipped to Ukraine where they sat. Specimens with red overprint may not have been readily distributed to institutions as they were never released, which could explain why they are difficult to find but any specimen from the first series is difficult to come by. Regardless, I consider these true specimens, in the sense that they were probably produced as an aid in familiarizing people and institutions with the new banknotes, and to help aid in counterfeit identification and authentication. The red overprint specimens will typically have a specimen number in the lower left corner on the back of the note, but I have seen images of notes with the specimen number missing, although I would be slightly nervous about acquiring such a note. If you can purchase both for under $500 as a pair in UNC condition you would have done very well in today's market.

    The next notes are listed in the SCWPM as 107A & B, or at least they are supposed to be, but several have been authenticated by TPG's as "specimens". All that I have viewed in TPG holders have been labeled as P# 107As (50 UAH) and P#107Bs (100 UAH), the same as the specimens with red overprint. Greeeaaat.  These specimen notes do not have red overprint "SPECIMEN" on them or a specimen serial number, solid zeros (ten), and have the word "НЕПЛАТІЖНА" (NOT PAYABLE/NON-PAYMENT) perforated in them. They are cancelled notes and not specimens but have been treated as such by the TPG's.  The perforations are slightly different between the two denominations, most notably in the first letter "Н". On the 50 Hryven note the left leg is perfectly vertical, on the 100 Hryven note the left leg is curved inward towards the right leg. I'm not sure if this was done on purpose but if you see a 100 Hryven note with a straight legged "Н" be warry. These notes were distributed and sold by the NBU in collectors sets labeled "Set of Hryvnia Banknotes to Commemorate 20 Years Since Currency Reform in Ukraine" in 2016, each set consisted of 28 banknotes, two of which were the first series 50 & 100 Hryven of 1992. There were two versions of the collector sets, the only difference being packaging/presentation. One thousand sets with a leather-bound folder were produced and an additional 3,500 sets were released in NBU envelopes. Meaning, at least 4,500 "specimens" were produced and possibly sold, all of the perforated examples for these two notes were removed from collector sets. So, it's no surprise that the perforated notes are far more common than the red overprint specimens. Currently, these will run around $300 for the pair in UNC condition. 

    Perforations:

    Commemorative Set/s, packaging and notes. I don't believe any of the other notes in these sets were unique in any way, but it wouldn't surprise me if it is found that some or all are.

    It is not clear to me if these were newly printed for the sets or if they were picked from the vaults, but they seem identical to the red overprint notes in ink and print quality. I also suspect that the perforated notes in sets were paired up based on serial number, the last 2-3 numbers will match, which coincides with the images I've seen of the sets, and why some listings of just the 50 & 100 Hryven notes will also have "paired" numbers. I rarely see a complete collectors set come up for auction, I imagine that many were broke down and the notes sold individually, but when they do I see asking prices of around $700 for the leather bound, I've never seen the set with envelope go up for auction. 
    There are known examples that were intended for circulation, no perforation or red overprint with actual serial number, but those are exceptionally rare. Proofs hand stamped "SPECIMEN" in black ink, on both sides, with solid 0 serial number also exist but are rare. 
    When I remember, , I record and track the serial numbers of both the perforated and red overprint specimens, below are the serial and specimen numbers I've tracked over the last handful of years. The difference between perforated notes and notes with red overprint is currently around 3:1, the margin was much larger, but 3 sets of red overprint specimens recently came onto the market. One other takeaway from the listed serial numbers is that the perforated 50 Hryven notes have two distinct blocks of serial numbers, 600004XXXX and 600009XXXX, I'm not sure why this is the case as there were supposedly only 4,500 released. Current range of tracked numbers of 100 Hryven perforated notes is 3,527 which is matching up with the total released, assuming the serial numbers were consecutive, the range for the 50 Hryven is currently 3,032 between the two serial number blocks. The rages for the red overprint notes are both at 169, again, assuming they were numbered sequentially. 

    So, what's next? I have examples of each note both perforated and with red overprint, I doubt I'll ever be able to acquire a proof or note intended for circulation, and I don't want these labeled with the same P#. I guess the first thing is to get the Pick #'s straightened out, the perforated and red overprint notes are separate and need unique P#'s. I'm not sure if at one point the SCWPM did have separate P#'s for both and then poofed one for some reason but using one P# for both notes is ridiculous. I'm going to try and sort this out with PMG soon as I plan on sending examples of each in for authentication, the only problem is that the genie is out of the bottle and there are quite a few perforated notes graded and a few of the red overprint notes, all with the same P#.  In my mind the red overprint notes would be P#'s 107As1 and 107Bs1, and the perforated notes would be 107As2 and 107Bs2 or possibly 107Acs and 107Bcs, or something else, as I really don't consider these specimens in the normal sense.  It kills me how half-aresed the Pick #'s are for Ukraine. Next will be to continue tracking notes, adding to my spreadsheets, and you never know, maybe a nice proof will pop up that is horribly underpriced and that nobody bids on but me. 
  10. Fenntucky Mike

    In and/(or) Out Of Love/(The Registry Set)?

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Compensation Certificates
    The Ukrainian Compensation Certificates issued in the early 90's are a bit of an odd duck, not really a banknote and not really currency. The presence of them in the PMG Registry is a bit iffy but I suppose an argument can be made that they belong, although I'm not so certain that they do. 
    After the fall of the U.S.S.R and Ukraine's independence, which was ratified in August of 1991 by the Central Rada of Ukraine, there was an immediate need to separate and create new financial institutions and businesses. In addition to new financial entities all businesses previously owned by the government, all businesses were owned by "The People" under the previous Communist regime, had to be "Privatized" and shares auctioned to the public. After the breakup of the Soviet Union the Ruble was in freefall and as a result all savings held in Banks and other entities were worth significantly less than when they were deposited. In a response to this a Presidential Edict (No. 138/92) was issued on March 6, 1992, revaluing all savings accounts, and increasing them by 100% based on their balance on January 2, 1992. The compensation amounts were not deposited into individuals existing savings accounts, but instead new privatization accounts were created in the newly established Savings Bank of Ukraine and held, until a time came where the National Bank of Ukraine and Ukrainian government would release them.

    As it was being decided on how to distribute these funds Coupons with zeros being added every printing were circulating, inflation was still massively out of control, and a mere two plus years later on November 24, 1994 a new Edict was issued. Edict N 698/94 was, again, an effort to compensate individual Ukrainians for monetary losses due to depreciation as the funds were sitting in the Saving Bank of Ukraine. In the Edict all accounts were increased (based on their balance on January 2, 1992) 2,200%! Also, unlike previously, the money would be distributed in the form of "indexation certificates" which would be issued with a nominal value multiple of 1 million rubles (karbovantsiv), all accounts would be rounded up to the nearest multiple of 1 million. Here's the kicker, "To establish that certificates issued for the amount of indexation (hereinafter - certificates) are freely traded and used for privatization of state property, except for integral property complexes of small state enterprises, which are privatized in accordance with the Law of Ukraine.". The certificates were meant to be used to purchase shares of former state-owned businesses that were being auctioned off publicly.

    I'm assuming due to public outcry a third and final Edict was issued on July 20, 1995 in which, was laid out the procedure for accrual of compensation in the institutions of the Saving Bank. People were paid their interest based on several factors which varied "depending on the use of computer technology". Also in the Edict was the nail in the coffin for the compensation certificates, accrual would only continue until August 10, 1995 after which there would be no more money added to the accounts. 

    After August 10, 1995 no more funds would be added to private savings accounts and with the ratification and release of a new monetary system in August - September of 1996 I expect that most if not all compensation certificates were gone by early 1997. According to the NBU, compensation certificates in the amount of UAH 3,335 million, with a minimum face value of UAH 10 (1 million karbovantsiv), were issued. Citizens of Ukraine received 30% of the total number issued certificates (i.e., 97.3 million units). On August 25, 1996 the Hyrvnia (UAH) was adopted as the official monetary unit of Ukraine replacing karbovanets, the exchange rate was established at 100,000 : 1 (UAH 1 = 100,000 rubles (karbovanetsiv)), then on September 2, 1996 banknotes and coins were released into circulation. The privatization of Ukrainian state-owned assets continues to this day with 22 of Ukraine's 3,644 state-owned enterprises scheduled to be auctioned off in 2021. Here's a link to the large scale properties/businesses being auctioned this year. Large privatization Категорія | Privatization in Ukraine I wonder if I could place a bid or buy a few shares of a mining company with one of these still.   Oh, wait! Nope they expired on July 1, 1997 according to the fine print on the back of the certificates. 

    A little clarification Ukrderzhstrakh, used in the front and rear descriptions, is not gibberish, although it may look like it,  it is an acronym for The Ukrainian State Insurance Commercial Organization. It makes more sense if seen in the Ukrainian language, Українська державна страхова комерційна організація or the acronym Укрдержстраху which translates to Ukrderzhstrakh. Yep, still looks like nonsense.  The insurance agency was liable for insurance clams and the payouts established prior to January 2, 1992 which had to be adjusted for inflation, similar to the savings accounts.
    I'm not quite sure of the process for distributing these but there are at least three different stages of the note, remainder, issued and canceled. I imagine that you would go to a bank and withdraw the money form the savings account established for you, the bank would count out the balance in remainders and then have you sign them (or maybe the teller did) then they stamped the certificates with a that branch's ID/number. Once in hand they would then be used, at an auction presumably, then stamped again and cancel punched. Just me speculating.
    1 & 2 million compensation certificates.


    1,000,000 Ukrainian Karbovantsiv remainder.


    1,000,000 Ukrainian Karbovantsiv issued.


    1,000,000 Karbovantsiv canceled.


    There are many, many stamp and signature combinations. The ink stamp typically consisted of the name of the bank on the outer band, the bank branch location and number on the inner band and an operations number in the center with the National coat of arms above. Here are a few that I have in my collection. 

    So, should they be In or Out of the current registry set?
  11. Fenntucky Mike

    It's not an issue (really it's not)

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Ukrainian Banknotes
    One of the things that draws me to world banknotes, lesser known and/or collected world banknotes, is that you can find and acquire "rarities" within a series or country and typically at a fraction of the cost for a similar U.S. note or similar heavily collected notes like China. In addition to the accessibility and price points another bonus is the variety or shear volume at times of the types of "rarities" you can acquire, and the volatility present in most newer countries just adds to the diversity of notes that are available. Lets use one of my latest additions as an example.
    I recently was able to pick up a 1992, 100 Hryven unissued note, it is from the 1st series Hryven banknotes released in 1996 (if you want a little bit of the back story for the delay from the time of printing 1992 to release 1996, see my previous journal entry "It's a long way to the top, if you wanna (good looking note)"). A really fun note, printed as part of the 1st series of modern Hryven banknotes of Independent Ukraine, which in addition to the 100 included denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, & 50. The 100 Hryven was never released into circulation (along with the 50), at least not wide spread circulation. The first series notes did not last long, printed by the CBNC (Canadian Bank Note Company) in 1992 the first series was printed by dry offset method using low quality inks, this exposed the first series to massive counterfeiting problems as individuals would use chemical solutions to wash away the ink from 1 Hryvnia notes and print higher denominations on them. Between 1992 and 1996, the time from when the first series notes were printed to the time they were released, the BPMW (Banknote Printing and Minting Works) of the NBU (National Bank of Ukraine) was established and put into operation (late 1994), now Ukraine was capable of printing it's own currency and in fact did, printing the second series of Hryven banknotes (some of the second series notes were printed in England by TDLR (Thomas de la Rue)) in 1994. That always cracks me up, as they now had the first two series of Hryvnia banknotes printed and neither would be release for at least another two years as the Control Coupons were still circulating and being printed. With the establishment of the BPMW in addition to the counterfeiting issues the first series did not have a long run until the second series was released. Precisely one year to the date (September 2, 1996) the second series was rolled out and circulated with the first. The second series included denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 & 200 (the 200 Hryven note was printed/added to the series in 2001) the third series would not be printed until 2003. My assumption is that the first series notes were so heavily counterfeited and the second series being already printed and ready to release, the government of Ukraine did not want or now need the first series 50 and 100 Hryven notes to circulate. 
    Here is the first series 100 Hryven note.

    It is not known (by me anyway) how may were printed but based on the serial number and current availability of such notes I would wager a minimum of 1,000 notes were/are floating around out there. On the front of the note is a portrait of Taras Shevchenko with the word UKRAINE printed above and the denomination (One Hundred Hryven) as text below. On the back is printed a landscape with the building of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament of Ukraine or translated "Supreme Council of Ukraine") in the center, above is written National Bank of Ukraine below the denomination in text. The note has visible green security fibers along with UV visible fibers, the watermark is a trident or tryzub repeating. I'm not sure why the watermark was not included on the label or why the printer is sometimes omitted.  (A Journal for another day) The note is perforated across the lower center, the perforations spell out НЕПЛАТІЖНА or NON-PAYMENT. This brings me to the point where I disagree with PMG on the use of the word "SPECIMEN" to describe this note, I tend to feel it was printed for circulation and then canceled. The perforations are perfectly aligned to the note so it does seem as if it was done by machine and not a manually operated or hand held punch, which (I think) goes against my opinion of not calling this note a specimen. I have no doubt that the holes were done after printing as I can see pieces of paper around the edges that did not cut cleanly and were dragged down into the perforations with ink still on them and where the punch made a clean cut, no ink on the walls of the perforation. I don't know, printed at the same time as the rest of the first series, perforated after printing, existing notes have varying serial #'s, no other (issued) first series specimen notes were perforated in this way and some un-canceled notes known to exist. There's just to many factors for me to call this a specimen, I would think "CANCELED" and/or "NOT ISSUED" would be more appropriate terms for this note. 
    There is another specimen (I guess I'll call it a second specimen since PMG is calling the perforated note a specimen) with diagonal red overprint ЗРАЗОК (SAMPLE). There is a red overprinted number on the lower right corner of the back, presumably the number of the sample, the note below is numbered 0926. I have seen this number as high as 2489 on the first series 50 Hryven note and as these were printed at the same time I will assume the 100 Hryven is numbered at least that high as well (of course they (the uncut sheets) could have been run through sequentially, the 50 & 100 maybe even the rest of the series. Hmm.). The serial number of the specimen note below is 0000000000 which is typical of most modern Ukrainian specimens.

    There are also known proofs of this note, the proofs are stamped SPECIMEN on the front and back with black ink and may or may not contain handwritten notations on the bill.

    I recently thought I'd see if PMG would create a slot for this note in one of the registry sets, I received the anticipated response of "this is more suitable for a custom PMG set". Lol, looking back at the email PMG sent it's kind of funny, the title of the email is "Registry submission REJECTED" ha! When I first saw the email it kind of stunned me/scared me, all I saw was rejected in all caps, I thought one of my ongoing projects had been declined (better read the whole title next time). I do tend to agree with the decision to not allow the note into an existing registry set as it was presumably not issued to the public. I just thought I'd give it a try since there are I think five or so graded by PMG, sometimes the number graded will make the difference. So I'll eventually be creating a Signature set to house this note along with the 50 Hryven and the variants of each. So if you want to see this note again you'll either have to go back to this Journal entry or look in the signature set but don't worry, it's really not an issue. 
    For reference here are the first and second series notes.
    First series, printed 1992 released 1996                                                       Second series, printed 1994 released 1997 (missing the 200 Hryven note which was added/printed in 2001)
                         
    UPDATE:
    I was rereading this journal entry and I noticed one additional item worth noting. The 50 and 100 Hryven 1st series notes (unissued notes) are the only two of that series to have a holographic patch on them, meaning they have an added anticounterfeiting device. It appears to have been applied prior to printing or at least the ink being applied as there are numerous reflective flakes around the patch but none appear to be on top, on the surface, of the ink. So they inked over the patch? I'm not quite sure of that, I'll have to do further research. That patch makes me wonder if those denominations weren't printed at a later date or possibly the patch added later. If the counterfeiting was as widespread as implied did they hold up the release of the 50 & 100 to add this patch or possibly scrap out notes printed in 1992 and reprint in 1996 to add the patch? I think my imagination maybe getting away from me.

    We'll see.....
  12. Fenntucky Mike
    I've been toying with some of the note descriptions for my Ukrainian registry sets and I'm having trouble staying under the 5,000 word limit. My friends and family would be somewhat surprised by this revelation, as they often have difficulty extracting a coherent sentence out of me at times. I tend to be more of an observer/listener rather than an active participant in conversations, pouncing in with wise cracking comments and/or definitive statements, after which (if my commentary had the desired affect) I'll take my cue and leave on a "high note". Anyway back to the problem at hand, in my descriptions I have a basic template that I then fill in with information and descriptions, normally at least on the coin (NGC) side I almost never run over the word limit, I think I ran over maybe once, but over here (PMG) I'm finding myself running over more often than not. So instead of tapering down the descriptions I decided to make a Signature Set where I can run wild, free of all word restrictions. In the main registry set I put the basic statistics of the note along with a notation directing the reader, if they are so inclined, to visit the Signature Set for more information. Simple enough, right? Well, I wasn't a fan of dumping all those descriptions in the Slot Comment box as it didn't seem conducive to reading and made the set look "clunky", so in the Slot Comment I put another notation to click on the photo icon to read the description, now that looks better. Another reason for moving the description off of the Set Registry is that I like to add the exact text (Crylic) on the notes to the descriptions and when entering this into the registry descriptions and saving ????????'s would be displayed instead of the Crylic text, not the case in the signature set.
    I treat all of my descriptions as living documents so I'll go in and add comments, thoughts or observations as I learn them or as more updated information surfaces or if I'm wrong and need to make corrections. Now with presumably unlimited space for descriptions I can continue with my extended entries unfettered. For example, I can just copy and paste all the security feature information from the NBU into the description and go into minutia with some of the details of the notes. Also, I will be able to go back at a later date and add historical details about the notes and the state of Ukraine at the time of release, what prompted the issues, etc. giving the notes context. These were details that I was originally going to hold back so as to fit within the confinement of the 5,000 word limit. I have close to a dozen descriptions rolling right now in the registry and signature sets, which I'll go back and continue to refine. I have another 4 or 5 notes that I want to plug in right now and then I'll take a minute to think about how they read and flow, then go back and tweak before adding more descriptions. Overall I think it is a good solution, treat the registry set descriptions like the back of a baseball card and put the bulk of the detailed info in the signature set. Finally, as I'm looking at this journal, I can see it's starting to run away from me and for now I think I just need to SHUT UP!
    Side note, Why does Jam Master Jay have tinfoil covered crutches in this music video and is that a real or fake coin about 1:50 in? I'm thinking fake, just a prop.
  13. Fenntucky Mike
    Well, after a few years of talking about it I finally sent a submission into PMG. I wanted to test the waters first, so I only sent in a batch of 10 specimen notes. Notes that I feel are properly listed in the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money with appropriate Pick #'s and accurate descriptions. Some of the notes would fill holes in my PMG registry set, others don't currently have homes in the registry but hopefully PMG will create them when I request some new sets. We'll see.  I didn't have time to take images of the notes prior to submitting them, I wanted to for a little guess the grade, but I'll try to make that happen next time. At any rate, they've gone and returned already, ahead of the projected turnaround time listed by PMG, and they are looking great in their new holders. 
    The first batch of specimens were from the early years, shortly after Ukraine's break from the USSR. The first notes issued by the newly independent Republic were several series of coupons, or control coupons as they are often referred to, denominated in karbovanets. The first series specimens (printed, 1991) are the least common of the four, and the most simplistic in design and security features. There is currently no registry set for these. 


    I've decided to go with a black background for the imaging (scanning) of all the notes, I like it.  It's much better than a white background for these, as the boarders of the notes tend to blend in with a white background making distinguishing where the edge of the note stops and starts very difficult at times. A big improvement for these, I think, and it really makes the notes POP.
    The second series coupons (first printing, 1992) received a new design but were printed on similar paper, with identical watermark, and cut to same dimensions as the first series. The back design is identical on the three notes from the submission, other than the denomination and color ink used, so I'm only posting the back of one of the notes. These are not to terribly hard to find, as I see them somewhat regularly, and no varieties helps. There is currently no registry set for the second series specimens. 




    The 2000 Karbovantsiv note below is somewhat of a transitional note, while this note is grouped with the Third series notes (first printing,1993) the design is more in line with the second series notes (1992) as the major design elements, size and watermark are identical to that series of notes. The only things this note has in common with the third series notes is the shield with Tryzub on the face of the note and being dated 1993. 


    Next we have the third series notes, with these notes we have yet another design change, plus a size change to go along with the new design, the notes became larger. If you haven't noticed the values have been increasing steadily with each new issue, inflation was riding roughshod over the entire Nation at the time facilitating the need for ever higher denominations of coupons in Ukraine. There are multiple varieties for most of the notes in this series and this series has the most denominations meaning that notes from this series are often seen, but there are a few key date varieties that are very difficult to find. There is a specimen set in the PMG registry for the third and fourth series notes and the six eligible notes from this submission are now located in their new registry set homes. 




    The fourth series notes, at least what I'm calling the fourth series notes, were issued starting in 1994, with more design changes and ever-increasing denominations. These don't hit the auction blocks very frequently but are more common than the first series. These are included in the same registry set as the third series notes, and with only three notes comprising the fourth series, I'm in complete agreement with that set configuration. 
     The 1,000,000 karbovantsiv note was printed in 1995 and is listed as a standalone issue in the SCWP, which is based on issue date, but if we were categorizing based on issue dates alone then the 200,000 & 500,000 karbovantsiv notes of 1994 should be the fourth series and the 1,000,000 karbovantsiv of 1995 the fifth series. My preference would be to classify these by design/series and that would mean the 2000 karbovantsiv note posted above would move to the second series (1992) notes, along with the 5000 karbovantsiv note of '93, then the two hundred thousand, five hundred thousand and one million karbovantsiv notes would be the fourth series. But that's an argument for another time/journal entry. 




    I am very pleased with the job done by PMG and all of the grades seem fair/accurate to me, they are at least within a range that I thought the notes would grade at. At any rate, these specimen sets are all about completing the set, including all varieties, as these notes don't come up for sale very often. Now that I'm nearing the end, with fewer slots left to fill, the task becomes even more difficult in finding the notes needed. I currently have six empty slots left in my registry set but I have three of the notes required raw and will be submitting them soon, I forgot to include them with this batch , and I know of a note going to auction in the near future that would also fit in nicely. If all goes according to plan, I will have only two notes missing from the set by the end of the year, which would be a major coup for me, and who knows maybe those other two elusive notes will show up as well. 
  14. Fenntucky Mike

    Upgrade my system (sets) at least twice a day.

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Ukrainian Banknotes
    Not really, but.... 
    Most of the Ukrainian notes coming up for auction/sale as of late are duplicates of examples I already have but some would be upgrades for me. So do I take the opportunity to replace a few low grades in my set or not, I'm not so sure right now. There are many factors in a decision to upgrade your collection, as a collector you would of course want the best examples available (that are within your means). I'm definitely not upgrading anything unless it's a 2+ increase in grade, I do have a few AU notes I would like to get in BU condition. Those are the easy decisions but most of the current notes I'm seeing are only a 1 or 2 tier increase in grade, all BU examples. Those are the notes that I'm having trouble with, I just can't seem to generate enough enthusiasm to want to upgrade those notes. Added to my lack of "want to" is the cost of such upgrades and that I'm currently concentrating on the coin side of my collecting endeavors. 
    This question (to upgraded or not) and the number of upgrades available is a bit of a reflection of my collecting style, meaning that I'll tend to grab the best available note for my sets knowing that there are better notes out there (I religiously check population reports). I tend not to wait, at some level this question is self inflected and also unavoidable. So many factors, the increased popularity of Ukrainian notes is yet another. With more collectors will more notes become available? Do I now practice patience and wait? The thought process being, more newly graded notes will become available in the very near future because sellers will have more graded as this latest class of notes are snapped up by new collectors. Then of course there is the question do I submit raw notes, modern Ukrainian notes are readily available raw and in good condition, I'm thinking this will be the route I take in the very near future, especially with the harder to obtain notes (I already have a healthy stash of raw notes). At this time I'm going to wait it out and pass on nonsignificant upgrades, holding out for notes that will complete my collection. Waiting will also have the added benefit of allowing me to focus on the coin side for the moment and to allow me to do some more in-depth research into the Ukrainian notes I currently have. 
    Can't have a Journal entry without a picture of a note, got these a few weeks back.


    They're basically stamps and there a few unlisted variants, they also have a cool history/story that I'll share one day. 
  15. Fenntucky Mike
    Well, I finally hit the 50% completion mark in my Ukraine Complete 1917-Date, P1-Date set and here's the note that did it the humble P#81a.

    Ahhh, always feels good to hit a milestone along the way in your collecting journey. I acquired my first Ukrainian banknote back in 2017, my first TPG note in 2018 (I can't even remember which ones they were now), started my registry set here in 2019 and hit 50% completion this week. It's been a great experience so far, I've learned more about banknotes, banking/finance, history and Ukraine than I ever thought I would. I've expanded my contacts in regards to people (some in Ukraine) and places to acquire these notes (some are hard to find). The people at PMG are always nice and helpful and the people here on the Forums have been great so far, I'm getting way more out of this than I thought I would. Thanks everyone.
    Next goal? I'm thinking 75%, if I can get there in the next 2 years I'll be doing alright. I might include completing a short Zimbabwe set in that time frame as well, we'll see. I have a couple of Journal entries roughed out, I'm just waiting to get a few things back in the mail and to see how a couple of things fall in place this week. There could be some interesting developments happening in the next week with this set.
  16. Fenntucky Mike

    I've Been Everywhere, Man! (Part 1)

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    1,000 Karbovantsiv 1918-1921
    If you like collecting varieties (and I do) there are tons of them out there for Ukrainian notes, and probably my favorite varieties to collect are for the 1918-1921 1,000 Karbovantsiv banknote. It's a great note to collect by variety as it is probably the most readily available note from that period, it's fairly cheap (especially in lower grades), and it will definitely keep you on your toes as there are many varieties, especially if you collect by prefix. Before we get to the varieties let's start with some background on the note itself.
    In 1918, Kyiv, the newly established Ukrainian People's Republic (1917) was in a state of flux, as it was for its entire existence, with war raging on several fronts and the Arsenal Uprising threatening to topple the Central Rada. In early February the uprising was suppressed, but shortly thereafter Russian forces captured the city on February 9th, remaining in control until March 1st. During this time the cliché for the 1917 issued 100 Karbovantsiv banknote was taken and forgeries printed, resulting in the note's removal from circulation and official demonetization on November 1, 1918. Also, on the same day that Russian forces had captured Kyiv, Ukraine signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire), in which Ukraine was recognized as a neutral state. Shortly after signing the treaty, German and Austro-Hungarian military forces were sent to Kyiv to clear Russian-Bolshevik forces from the city and Ukraine. By April tensions were rising between Ukraine's Central Rada and the assisting foreign forces which eventually led to a coup d'état on April 29th, orchestrated by the German lead military forces still present in Kyiv. The Ukrainian People's Republic was toppled and Pavlo Skoropadsky inserted as Hetman of the autocratic Ukrainian State. Thus begins the story of the 1,000 Karbovantsiv banknote. 
    Contemporary Counterfeit of a 100 Karbovantsiv note, using the captured cliché. 

    50 Karbovantsiv cliché used to print banknotes.

    Hetman Skoropadsky's Ukrainian State was instrumental in organizing quality printing of banknotes in a remarkably short period of time (summer-fall 1918). The entire printing department needed an overhaul, and no expense was spared in modernizing. Printing presses were acquired from the Leipzig based firm of Karl Krause, the world's leading manufacturer of printing equipment, several types of paper were ordered from Deutsche Reichsdruckerei and 370 poods of Hostmann-Steinberg specialty inks. In all likely hood the lithography stones were also purchased from Germany, as records for the purchase of expendable materials mention lithography stones but from a different time. With everything in place, and a design ready, the first 1,000 Karbovantsiv notes were printed on No. 217 paper with the Reichsdrucerei-Wellenlinien (Reich's Printer-Wavy Lines) watermark, in Kyiv, and in circulation by December 1918. Four series of notes were produced, prefix АБ, АА, АВ, and АГ all in red ink.
    1,000 Karbovantsiv note of Kyiv, 1918.

    The printing of 1,000 Karbovnatsiv banknotes did not last long in Kyiv. By November an uprising had led to the restoration of the UPR, under control of a Directoria, followed closely by the withdrawal of German forces from Kyiv, the abdication of Skoropadsky on December 14, 1918, and the fleeing of the Government and removal of UPR troops from Kyiv on February 5, 1919, before Russian forces retook the city. Prior to the Russian reoccupation all government offices, including the Treasury Printing Office with its valuable property, had been evacuated. Among the items saved were the lithographic stones used to produce 1,000 karbovantsiv banknotes. No printing supplies, of any kind, were known to have been obtained by the advancing Russian forces at this time.
    Lithography Stones of the 1,000 Karbovantsiv banknote.

    All printing equipment and supplies were moved to Kamianets-Podilsky, the Treasury Printing Office was "billeted" in the former Orthodox Seminary building, and it was there that the printing of Ukrainian paper money resumed in the summer and fall of 1919. By the spring the printing office had run out of certain expendables (paper, ink, etc.) and on March 28, 1920 the decision was made to print 1,000 Karbovantsiv notes on No 227 paper with the Stern Sechseck Muster (Star-in-Hexagon Pattern) watermark. Not long after relocating, the city fell under Polish control (November 16, 1919 to July 12, 1920), during which the Warsaw Treaty was signed between the Second Polish Republic and Ukraine in an effort to create an alliance against Bolshevik Russia. Subsequently, printing of the 1,000 Karbovantsiv note was moved to Warsaw. Six series of notes were produced in Kamianets-Podilsky, prefix АН & АО on No 217 paper with wavy lines (waves) watermark and prefix АА, АВ, АБ and АГ on No 227 paper with linked-stars watermark.

    As previously mentioned, the next and final stop for the 1,000 Karbovantsiv banknote was Warsaw. With Russian forces advancing on Kamianets-Podilsky the printing operations were relocated to Warsaw. By November of 1920 the UPR lost the remainder of its territory to the Bolsheviks, and on March 18, 1921 the Treaty of Riga between the Second Polish Republic and Soviet Russia was signed, effectively terminating the UPR. Printing of 1,000 Karbovantsiv notes began on July 5, 1920 and would continue, not continuously, until 1921. After which an independent Ukrainian State or governing body ceased to exist. 1,000 Karbovantsiv notes printed in Warsaw are distinguished by the letter "W" present on the font of the note. Presumably this was added to the existing lithography stones. There were only two series of notes produced in Warsaw, AE & AI on paper containing no watermark. Zig-Zag lines or varnish were added to the surface of the paper in place of a watermark, the varnish can be present on the front, back, or both sides of the notes. There is a possibility of a third series printed in Warsaw but that has yet to be confirmed. 

    The 1,000 Karbovantsiv banknote was the note the public trusted the most and which were in highest demand. These notes would often trade for 1,500 even 1,700 Karbovantsiv in depreciated and unpopular 250 Karbovantsiv notes. The proof is in the printing, as these were constantly produced over multiple locations and years during which several regime changes took place and a monetary shift from the Karbovanet to Hryvnia as the national currency. Due to the times and multiple printing locations these notes have several varieties both minor and major, some of which were touched on above. In the next entry I'll go more in-depth with those varieties.
    Printing locations for the 1,000 Karbovantsiv banknotes on a WWI era map. Right to left, Kyiv, Kamianets-Podilsky, and Warsaw. 

  17. Fenntucky Mike
    During the final years of World War I and spanning the timeline of the Russian Revolution, 1917 – ’23, the region of Ukraine enjoyed a brief moment of autonomy. A time when governments were formed, felled, and reformed. A time of art on currency and the creation of a 100 Hryven banknote for the people.
    Shortly after the February Revolution in Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) on February 23, 1917 [O.S.], the territory of Ukraine formed the Central Rada (Council) as the representative governing body. After the abdication of Nicholas II, the Russian Provisional Government came into power and recognized Ukraine’s right to autonomy and the Central Rada as a legitimate representative body. After the Bolshevik coup in Petrograd, The October Revolution, relations between Ukraine and Russia deteriorated rapidly and on November 20, 1917 the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UPR) was established.
    Soon after the UPR was formed the Central Rada adopted a law to take over control of the Kyiv office of the State Bank of Russia and transform it into the Ukrainian State Bank.  With a Central Bank and newly appointed government it was time to create a National Currency, Karbovanets, which were equal to one Russian Ruble. Soon after its establishment, on January 5, 1918, banknotes with a face value of 100 Karbovanets were put into circulation. Despite the fact that the Government had no gold standard, one Karbovanets was declared equal to 17.424 Dolya or parts of fine gold, which is equal to .766656 grams (1 Dolya = .044 grams). Soon after the first banknote’s release the Ukrainian State Bank was commissioned to generate a new currency without gold backing.

    The establishment of the Karbovanets as the national monetary unit was short lived as on March 1, 1918 a new law was adopted making the Hryvnia the new national currency. Two Hryvnia was equal to one Karbovanets and the 1/100 was called a Shah or Shahiv. The new currency law provided for the issuance of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 & 1,000 Hryvnia notes, however no 5, 20 or 50 Hryvnia notes were ever printed and only six denominations went into actual circulation. A 5 Hryven note was issued later in 1919/20, but is not part of the first issue Hryvnia notes. While new Hryvnia banknotes were being designed and printed, provisional banknotes denominated in Karbovanets were still being produced to bridge the gap and to keep commerce flowing.

    The Ukrainian Government called upon prominent Ukrainian artists to design new banknotes, artists such as Vasyl Krychevsky, Anthon Sereda, I. Mozolevsky and Georgy Narbut. Narbut designed 13 of the 24 banknotes issued between 1917 and ’20, including the initial 100 Karbovanets note, many stamps, the National Coat of Arms, seals, letterhead, etc., but the 100 Hryvnia banknote of 1918 is considered by many to be his greatest contribution to the new State.
         
                                                                                                                                                    
    The 100 Hryvnia banknote of 1918 (Pick #22) was part of the inaugural issue of Hryvnia banknotes, the notes were printed in Berlin at the Reichsdruckerei on white paper with Kreuzringelmuster (Cross & Ringlet) watermark. Presumably, the job of printing the new Hryvnia notes was outsourced to Berlin due to printing houses in Ukraine being utilized for the printing of Karbovanets while the Hryvnia notes were being produced, or fear of capture while war was raging, or perhaps as a political gesture to Germany who had backed the fledgling State and in late February of 1918 forced the Bolsheviks out of Ukraine after they had seized the city of Kyiv earlier in the month. Whatever the reasoning may have been, in the end, the Reichsdruckerei did not disappoint and notes were quickly printed, shipped to Ukraine, and put into circulation by no later than October 17, 1918. Which by that time the governing body of Ukraine had been displaced and a new regime installed.



    By April of 1918 the German forces had successfully aided the Ukrainian Army in removing the Bolsheviks and, under orders from the German government, promptly staged a coup, after which the Central Rada was removed and Gen. Pavlo Skoropadsky installed as Hetman of Ukraine. On May 9th the Hetman ordered that the official National monetary unit be converted back to Karbovanets. The exchange rate remained the same as when Karbovanets were removed in favor of the Hryvnia, 2:1 Hryvnia to Karbovanets. Denominations of both monetary unites remained in circulation and were accepted through the remainder of an Independent Ukraine’s existence. The 100 Hryven banknote of 1918 would have been one of the workhorses of the economy, being one of the higher denominated notes and large quantities having been printed, some estimates put the total number printed/authorized at 350,000 or more, it would have been one of the most used and available notes in Ukraine at the time. The large quantity printed would also account for the great number of surviving notes and many in uncirculated condition. Three varieties were printed at the time, Pick #22a (as viewed in image 2) has the same design as the other varieties but with the prefix (A) and serial number oriented vertically on the back of the note, this is the most common variety and easily obtained. Pick #22b is slightly larger in size than #22a and the prefix (Б) and serial number on this variety are oriented horizontally on the back of the note, this variety is extremely rare. The final variety, Pick #22?, (Pick does not list this variety) has the same dimension as #22a (180 x 118 mm) but has the prefix (A) and serial number oriented horizontally on the back of the note, this note is rare.

    Once it was clear that the Central Powers, Skoropadsky’s sponsors, were going to lose WWI the Hetman formed a new cabinet of Russian Monarchists. In response, on November 14, 1918, the Ukrainian socialists formed a new revolutionary government, the Directorate of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, which ousted the Hetman and took back control of the government of Ukraine. On January 4, 1919 the Directorate proclaimed the Hryvnia the sole legal currency (along with Karbovanets) throughout Ukraine, and all other currencies (Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian or Romanian) forfeit. The Directorate did manage to issue five notes before its dissolution in November of 1920 but none were as elaborate or rich in national symbolism as Nabut’s design for the 100 Hryven note of 1918.
    The designs of Narbut, particularly that of the 100 Hryven banknote of 1918, have endured long after his death in 1920 at the age of 34. The 100 Hryven note’s design is a lasting symbol, representing the working class and the best of Ukrainian heritage which can still be seen today on Modern Ukraine’s currency. On the face of the note Narbut has placed a female figure in traditional dress holding a sheaf of wheat and clasping a scythe to the left an elaborately wrought central wreath, to the right of the wreath is a male figure with a wide-blade plow or hammer dressed in clothing representative of the proletariat. Both figures stand casually on a low mound of soil, with movement expressed in the folds of their garments. The design on the back of the note is devoid of figures, showcasing a cornucopia of Ukraine’s bounty capped by Narbut’s tryzub. Two Ionic-styled columns positioned against a mesh background create a stark impression softened by the interplay of two tones of blue.

    Narbut utilized the bust of the female figure used on the 100 Hryven note in other note designs such as the 30 Shahiv postage stamp currency (P8) and the 500 Hryven (P9) note in the same series. Narbut’s design was also used to fund the Government in exile by being reimagined by other artists and sold as limited-edition prints, such as the drawing done by Pyotr Kholodny (P10) and issued by the Government of Lviv in 1923. In 2018, to mark the centenary of the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917-’21 and the first Ukrainian paper money, the National Bank of Ukraine issued a commemorative banknote (P11) featuring the design used on the first 100 Hryven banknote of 1918. However, perhaps the biggest testament to the enduring legacy of the design of the first 100 Hryven banknote is that elements of it are still used today on Ukraine’s circulating 50 Hryven banknotes (P12). There is little doubt that Narbut’s design used on the 100 Hryven note is one of the most iconic in Ukraine’s history. 
    (SEE THE FIRST REPLY TO THIS JOURNAL ENTRY TO VIEW IMAGES OF THE NOTES REFERENCED IN THE LAST PARAGRAPH)
  18. Fenntucky Mike
    This is a follow up to a previous Journal entry where I mentioned a story about "borrowed" specie, see Journal entry "But it was obsolete before I opened the box" for additional info on The Bank of Allegan and Michigan "wildcat" banks in general. 
    Here is an Obsolete banknote from another wildcat bank, The Bank Of Singapore (Michigan), organized Dec. 7, 1837, closed 1839. The settlement of Singapore was established in 1836 and subsequently abandoned by 1875 when the last saw mill was moved. Nothing visible remains of the settlement as anything that was left behind including buildings was buried by the shifting dune sands located along Lake Michigan. 

    The Bank of Singapore issued notes in denominations of $1, $2, $3 & $5, which was common for the time period and type of bank. The bills were printed by Rawdon, Wright & Hatch of New York, the denominations were printed on one side of a single sheet, these sheets were then shipped to the Bank and stored as remainders, as notes were needed the sheets were cut then signed and dated by the Cashier (Rob Hill) and Bank President (Daniel S. Wilder), both signatures are present on this note. It is common to find 1837 notes dated Dec 25 and Jan 1, this note is dated Jan 10, 1838. Records indicate that banknotes valued at $15,952 were put into circulation, this would be equal to about 1,450 sheets or roughly 5,800 individual bills if complete sheets were cut. The hard money or specie reserve (which should have totaled $15,000 based on the bank's capital stock, but probably wasn't even when it was present) was kept in the vault in an old nail keg.
    As was common at this time Banks pooled their specie and shipped it from bank to bank ahead of the inspectors who were there to verify these banks had enough specie on hand to back the notes being issued, this leads to the story mentioned in a previous Journal entry. The Bank of Allegan and the Bank of Singapore being "neighbors" commonly pooled their specie, after the state bank inspector viewed and counted the pooled specie at the Bank of Allegan the bag of gold was quickly packed up and given to a local Native American, who loaded it into his canoe to transport it down the Kalamazoo River to The Bank of Singapore, which was the inspectors next stop. The inspector was in route to Singapore via horseback and roads being nonexistent in those days, traveling by canoe down the river was the fastest mode of travel. The Native American, paddling swiftly to beat the bank inspector, hit an obstacle in the river and capsized. The bag of gold sank to the bottom in a particularly deep part of the river, the man righted his canoe and rushed ahead to tell the Bank officials at Singapore what happened, immediately a plan was devised. The local blacksmith began to fashion a drag hook to retrieve the gold, in the meantime a dispatch was sent to the town of New Richmond, centrally located between the two banks at a ferry crossing. The inspector was plied with food and drink, a party was staged and night's logging offered. Meanwhile, downstream the men of Singapore were using the hook on the end of a dragline to recover the bag of gold from the river, the gold was pulled from the river and sent to the bank to dry out. Word was sent that the inspector could proceed and a short time later (maybe the next day) the inspector and specie met again at the Singapore Bank. 
    Another story involved a local merchant who purchased a supply of boots, boots being in short supply and the locals being desperate for them tried to pay with banknotes from The Bank of Singapore, the merchant refused to accept the notes. This did not suit the officers of the bank so they promised to redeem their bills from the merchant with eastern money in time for him to remit to his dealers. The parties agreed and the entire stock of boots was sold out, amounting to about $600. On the day the Bank was supposed to redeem the money, they were unprepared and pushed the date back, this went on for over a month. Having run out of time and at his wit's end the merchant knowing where the cashier resided and suspecting he carried the "good money" of the bank with him decided to wake him one morning. The merchant went to the clerks room, entered and locked the door, then woke the clerk, laid the wildcat bills on the bed, drew his pistol and demanded the exchange be made then and there. Suffice to say the clerk made the exchange, having raised his pillow and removing a roll containing about $1,000 (the total genuine capital of the bank), $600 was given to the merchant leaving the bank with $400 of good money.
    The charter of the Bank of Singapore was formally annulled by the Michigan Legislature on February 16, 1842, along with charters of most of the other wildcat banks of Michigan. One evening several locals were invited to the home of one of the officers of the Bank of Singapore to witness the destruction of the bills on hand at the bank at the time of suspension. There was a 4" x 4" table covered with bills in packages lying in piles from three to six inches deep. These were burned in a stove and "sufficed for boiling a tea kettle twice", or so the story goes.
    Remainders are fairly common with these notes, including uncut sheets. I've read stories and first hand accounts of people lining their boots with uncut sheets or stuffing them into the cracks of walls to keep drafts out or pillows. Signed notes are much harder to come by as most (it seems) were destroyed. It's not a bad looking note, with a depiction of Justice & Liberty on the left, a factory and canal on the right and a depiction of a port in the center. They definitely didn't skimp out on the ink for these notes. 
     
     
  19. Fenntucky Mike
    The Pick# 82b (with latent imprint) has been stuck in my head for the last few weeks. I don't know, just a feeling that I haven't investigated the note completely enough and some reservations with the capabilities of my equipment. Since I had no other 3 Karbovansti notes to compare it to I went and acquired several for a control group, they are fairly cheap for raw notes.

    Upon their arrival and inspection they looked as they should, in regards to the latent imprint, under normal lighting you can faintly see the imprint. A slightly off white/tan image is just barley visible behind the image of Lybid, so far so good. 

    Next, UV light. I lay the notes out and see how the latent imprint "pops" under UV. Hmmm, not as clear/bright as I would have hoped.
                                
    Ok, back to the graded P# 82b. Still nothing but now I think I'm seeing the outline of the latent imprint, probably pareidolia, but the UV light did not illuminate the latent imprint as I had hoped on the raw notes. Just to clarify I'm using a 40X loupe with UV light to inspect these notes. The UV light is small so you can't flood the entire note unless you are 6" away and it's not particularly powerful. So I'm still a little skeptical and I need an upgrade anyway. 

    Having a few Amazon points available I pulled the trigger on a few new UV lights. One is sold by Banknote World (you can buy it direct if you want) the second is a flashlight type (I'm all set for scorpion lookout now). I haven't done a bunch of research into UV light (yet), the different bands/wavelengths, types, etc. but if anyone has some suggestions on a type of UV light to use or an article let me know. 

    For now the search goes on, as there is still an inkling of doubt in the back of my head on what is exactly in the PMG holder. I'm hoping a better UV source will eliminate all doubt.
  20. Fenntucky Mike

    99 (100!) Luftballoons

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Collecting
    Recently I acquired a P127b banknote for one of my Ukrainian sets, NBU 1991 - Date, normally this would not result in much fanfare but it just happened to be the 100th note in the set.  A somewhat noteworthy  achievement in my book and a short time coming in the grand scheme of things. Having started this set in February of 2019, it took only a miniscule 28 months to reach 100 banknotes a goal that I would have anticipated being much more drawn out and that there was submitted such a variety of notes so as to allow me to sit here today writing about my 100th note with no submissions of my own is a testament to some of the alert sellers I've purchased from over this time. Really, how many people collect Ukrainian banknotes in a serious manner? I currently tally three, myself included, who I would consider ardent collectors of these notes. 


    In the meantime, since the purchase of this note, I've added three more to the fold and am currently residing at 103 total notes in the set with only 14 more to go. I know at some point I will have to submit raw notes to complete this set and I have already began gathering them in anticipation of this. Of the 14 empty slots left I have 7 raw notes waiting patiently to be sent in and another 5 that are currently not listed in the set that will be added once I, or whomever, send examples in to be graded. So, including the notes not currently listed in the registry set, that would bring the total number of notes required to complete this set to 122! Which is a ridiculous number of notes for a newcomer to try and obtain, I think it would be nice if there were short sets by series for collectors to utilize as well as the complete set but I doubt this will happen unless more Ukrainian banknote collectors appear. Maybe I could help facilitate this but we'll see.
    Collecting by minor Pick number (a, b, c, d, etc..) is really a Signature set  as that is often the only difference between Pick numbers. For modern Ukrainian notes some Pick numbers climb up to "f", that's six notes of the same design the only difference being the signature. I never fancied myself an autograph collector but in essence that is what a majority of this set is.  I guess I never thought I would be that fanatical about collecting Ukrainian banknotes. But I am. 
    PICK # 127 signatures to date. 
     Update 8/3/2021: The 2021 note with Shevchenko signature is now officially Pick #127c.
    The funniest thing to me about this note is that I already had one graded by PMG and hadn't entered it into my set because it wasn't showing up as available, probably due to the fact the Pick number was unlisted at the time of grading, so now I have two and I could have hit 100 notes sooner. Meh, at least the newer one was a higher grade, if I had bought a lower grade duplicate.   
  21. Fenntucky Mike

    I Want Variety In My Society

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Signatures
    The NBU released into circulation a new 1000 Hryen note dated 2023 with the signature of the current Governor of the NBU Andriy Pyshnyy. The notes were introduced into circulation on July 20th and will circulate with existing notes of the same denomination. This is the third signature-date variety and including the 2021 commemorative the fourth type overall, it will undoubtedly be assigned Pick # A128c. The 1000 Hryven banknote was first issued on October 25, 2019 in a response to a gradually falling Hryvnia and rising inflation. The new 1000 Hryven note would make it easier for business and the general public by requiring fewer low denomination bills for transactions and reduce government costs associated to the production of those lower denomination notes. The release also coincided with the introduction of 1,2,5 & 10 Hryvnia coins and the halting of production of notes of the same denominations, the lower denomination notes are still used in everyday commerce and are slowly being withdrawn as they come into banks and other institutions. 

    The 1000 Hryven banknotes were/are the topic of some discussion in regard to a stolen adobe font being used for some of the text. A topic that has yet to go away, and that the NBU denies. I've written about it previously in my Journal. No changes have been made to the fonts currently in-use on the banknotes.
    A 1000 Hryven note (Pick #24, pictured below) was issued 101 years prior by the fledgling government of a newly formed Ukrainian State in 1918, near the end of WWI and the beginning of the Russian Revolution. In 1918 there was also a 2000 Hryven banknote issued, cold similar large denomination banknotes be in Ukraine’s future? Although the current 1000 Hryven banknote was issued prior to the Russian invasion circumstances now could force the NBU to issue new higher denomination banknotes, mirroring previous history during similar situations. The Hryvnia was equal to .040 dollars when the current 1000 Hryven banknotes were first issued in 2019, it is currently sitting at .027. The NBU has given no indication that larger denominations are in the works, but one can't help but wonder.  

    There were also 3.6% interest 1000 Hryven bonds that circulated as money in 1918 and are considered notes. The central portion with or without coupons attached is considered a note, P# 15, as well as the coupons themselves if cut from the original, P# 20. Bonds with all eight coupons attached are extremely rare.

  22. Fenntucky Mike

    Where did you come from?

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Ukrainian Banknotes
    So this was part of another journal entry I was writing but I got completely sidetracked in researching/writing this aspect of the entry and it just doesn't fit or stay within the theme of the original anymore. Viola! A second journal entry. 
    In 1991 the newly Independent Ukraine was accepting bids to print its new currency the Hryvnia. CBNC (Canadian Bank Note Company), one of the bidders, is based in Ottawa. At the time Canada had a population of just over 27 million, 1 million of which were of Ukrainian descent, this gave CBNC a competitive edge in the bidding for the contract. In February of 1991, Shirley Arends of CBNC took a call from a Ukrainian-Canadian in Ottawa who had been asked by the Ukrainian Parliament in Kyiv to advise how the emerging nation could produce and circulate a new currency. CBNC then expressed interest in bidding for the contract, after which a delegation of Ukrainians arrived to discuss the contract further. The conference went well and after which each group hired a Canadian-Ukrainian law firm to represent themselves. Lawyers from the Toronto office of Fasken Martineau Davis represented the CBNC and the firm of Smith, Lyons, Torrance, Stevenson and Mayer represented the NBU (National Bank of Ukraine). The two parties signed a letter of intent in New York City in September but the deal was not publicized until November 14, 1991 when the contract was approved by the Supreme Council of Ukraine the Verkhovna Rada. The terms of the contract were that Ukraine would place a $5 million USD down payment in hard currency, not in Hryvnia, the CBNC was then to print the first series of Hryvnia banknotes after which the balance of the contract was to be paid. The contract was worth $35 million USD and the total number of bills to be printed was 1.5 billion in denominations from 1 to 100. This new contract was a coup for CBNC, the printing deal with Ukraine was instrumental in more than doubling the companies revenues from 91 to 92. CBNC also worked closely with the NBU in establishing the BPMW (Banknote Printing and Minting Works) of Ukraine. At one point the two entities were to co-own the facility giving CBNC a Kyiv based manufacturing facility from which they could tender bids and produce new currencies and other items for the newly emerging countries of the old Soviet Union. The concept/plan did not come to fruition, in fact TDLR (Thomas De La Rue) and ISBF (Imprimerie Speciale de Banque, "France") were printing Coupons at this same time, TDLR would go on to print some of the second series Hryvnia notes as well. (Maybe in part that's why the 50 & 100 denominations were not issued, or why CBNC did not print any additional notes for or with the NBU, there was a falling out of some kind?) Continued below images......
                                                          (First Series Notes, issued)                                                                                                                          (First Series Notes, not issued)

    Printing began in January of 1992 and the CBNC committed to a delivery date at the end of June but being in no rush to receive the newly printed notes (the first issue notes would not be released into circulation until 1996) and not wanting to spend the extra money on air freight the Ukrainian government decided to ship the notes via overseas freight. Once production was complete a freight ship, along with 8 officers of ALPHA (Ukrainian Secret Service (ex KGB) now called SBU) disguised as sailors,  was sent from the port city of Ilyichevsk in the Black Sea (now Chornomorsk, due to a 2015 law requiring settlements established under Soviet/Communist control to be renamed). After a month's time the vessel arrived in Montreal, where it waited until the notes were removed from the CBNC vaults and loaded into shipping containers, the containers were then loaded onto railcars and departed CBNC headquarters in Ottawa by train. On September 13, 1992 the ship "Peter Aleynikov" was loaded with the 105 containers of banknotes and departed in route to the island of Malta where an additional 23 containers of cargo were loaded. On October 2, the cargo ship returns to Ukraine and docks in the port city of Nikolayev (now Mykolaiv) near the mouth of the Dnieper River in the Black Sea. The containers were then transferred to the general cargo ship "Slavutich - 17" (commissioned in 1991) and two other similar vessels. Once loaded the three ships navigated up the Dnieper River to Kyiv where the containers were offloaded and delivered to the NBU (National Bank of Ukraine) where they were held in underground vaults until their release on September 2, 1996.
                                                          (Slavutich-17, present day)

    It's pretty amazing that you can find information and details like that, even a picture of the ship that transported the notes. Read enough books and do enough "searching", you'll be amazed at what you find.
  23. Fenntucky Mike
    Prior to me starting a Ukrainian banknote registry set, I was well aware of two "stopper" notes in it, Pick# 50 (2 Karbowanez) and Pick #125 (50 Hryvnia). The 2 Karbowanez note I may never own or even get the opportunity to (this note has an interesting story behind it, which I will write about in a future journal), but the 50 Hryvnia I will have an opportunity to acquire at some point and that time could be very soon. The 50 Hryvnia is a manufactured rarity (I hate that), a commemorative banknote with only 1,000 being produced (S#'s 00000001 - 0001000) in 2011 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the NBU. Two hundred were sold in a set containing a 4oz silver replica of the note, the remaining 800 were sold individually in a commemorative folder. The notes overall design is identical to the 2004 (Pick 121) 50 Hryvnia issue, the only difference being the addition of a green-to-gold SPARK patch with the phrase “НБУ 20 років” (NBU – 20 years) on the obverse. If I were to acquire this note it would easily be the most expensive in my Ukrainian set to date.

    I've been watching the 50 Hryvnia note for the last 2+ years and it just keeps going up in price and down in availability, so my conundrum is do I buy now or wait 10 years and hope it goes down in price and becomes available. A common question that many collectors struggle with and a question that can only be answered by that individual. Recently the UAH has taken a nosedive against the USD and items purchased in Ukraine are much lower in cost compared to a year ago. I have been taking advantage of this recently by purchasing several coins from some of my Ukrainian contacts at much reduced costs, I have a shipment of a dozen coins on the way as I type this. I have also been paring down some of my collections, selling off duplicates and the such. So, with a falling UAH, an influx of funds (hopefully) from selling off some items, a second quarter bonus at work (please, please, please) and a known available 2011 50 Hryvnia note in Ukraine I'm thinking the time is, well. Right now!   (Or at least in the very near future)

    To be continued.......
  24. Fenntucky Mike
    I was taking a stroll through the internet, a week or so ago, searching for information on the paper used by the National Bank of Ukraine - Banknote Printing and Minting Works for banknote production, and stumbled upon a really wonderful document titled Banknote Paper Deterioration Factors: Circulation Simulator Method, authored by Tetiana Kyrychok, Anatolii Shevchuk, Victor Nesterenk, and Petro Kyrychok. Normally I like to skim over items such as this, gleaning what I think is pertinent to my field of interest, but after "skimming" I saw that a Ukrainian banknote was used for testing in the simulator, I was hooked (a 2 Hryvnia, pre 2014 issued note was used, as the banknote paper composition has been changed by the NBU since publishing). The paper is 15 pages of technical jargon and I loved every word of it.  
    While the paper strictly focuses on banknote "Deterioration" I think that it also translates well to other areas of banknote collecting, for example. Knowing how/why the breaking down (deterioration) of notes happens and the root causes help with grading (I think), in that you are better able to identify problem areas such as types of waviness, changes in color in certain areas of the note and in certain color spectrums, yellowing, brightness, effects of thermal effects, UV degradation, weight loss and on and on and on.. It also helped shed more light on (again for me) proper storage, mainly what not to do, and how climate/storage area will effect notes. 
    While the simulation results are probably not going to be relatable to most notes as banknote paper composition is frequently changing, polymer is becoming evermore popular, and the results are no longer valid for post 2016 Ukrainian notes as the paper makeup was changed at that time but the reasons for deterioration all remain valid. Below are a couple of charts from the paper showing general methods of deterioration and factors from circulation.

     
    If you have a free moment or a quite evening this paper is definitely worth checking out. 
    Banknote paper deterioration factors: Circulation simulator method :: BioResources (ncsu.edu) 
    Ukraine 2013 issue 2 Hryven banknote. This series was printed from 2004 - 2013, presumably this series note was used during testing.


  25. Fenntucky Mike

    You say I'm just a specimen! (Yeah, pretty much)

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Ukrainian Banknotes
    So how rare is a specimen? Well, if you collect Ukrainian banknotes not very. I've been looking at Ukrainian specimen notes for a while now, over a year, and one of the initial observations was that "wow, there are a lot available". Meaning that they are not hard to find and they are not hard to find a reasonable prices. For the modern issues anyway, 1991 to date. A quick search of ebay, lazily typing in UKRAINE SPECIMEN, nets 281 hits, of which I would say 50-75 are actual banknote specimens, seems like a lot to me. If I type in Venezuela specimen, boom, tons of hits, I can buy a complete run of 2018 Bolivares Soberanos specimens for $150.  A quick search of the PMG population report for Ukraine shows 54 specimens have been graded (including samples and proofs) out of 1,815 notes, hmm ok seems high. So how does this compare to other countries, Zimbabwe has 6 graded specimens out of 13,988 notes, Venezuela 823 of 3,917 (wow), Belarus 22 of 1,497, Lithuania 333 of 3,246, Latvia 26 of 812, Estonia 296 of 1,889 (what) and Disney Dollars 67 of 7,740 . Ok, so nothing really correlative there, just some fun statistics. Still it seems that Ukrainian specimens are easy to come by, so much so that PMG felt it prudent to create specimen sets for the registry. There is really no way to statistically determine the rarity of a specimen unless I have the number of specimen's printed, the # destroyed and total notes issued, at least as I type this I think that would be the most accurate statistic. In most cases, yes, specimens are more desirable than regular issues but don't get crazy when you see one because, yeah it's pretty much just a specimen.
    Ok, now that I'm done dumping on specimens, here's a few of mine.



    I will say this about collecting world notes and even more so, world notes that don't have a big collector base. You get the opportunity to add harder to find notes and have more comprehensive collections. You don't have nearly the struggle, competition or cost to acquire some really great notes (graded and raw). I'm not sure if there is a specimen U.S. set of any type  but I bet it would be very difficult and expensive for someone to try for a set like that. I'll stay here in the cavernous shadows of the world registry for now, I'm just having too much fun to leave at the moment.