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Fenntucky Mike

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Journal Entries posted by Fenntucky Mike

  1. Fenntucky Mike
    I've said this a few times, that the Standard World Catalog of World Paper Money is a great reference, and that all collectors, especially beginners, would benefit from having a copy. That being said, it's not the be all end all of information, also something I've mentioned previously, and to that point here are a few more examples of Ukrainian notes not referenced in the SCWPM.  
    In 2018 banknotes of the denominations 1 hryvnia and 2 hryven were printed. With plans already in progress to eliminate both denominations by March 1, 2020, the printing of these notes may have been needed as a stop gap until the transition to the 1 hryvnia and 2 hryven coins, but a 1 hryvnia coin has been in circulation/produced since 1992 and a 2 hryven coin since 2018. If you are going to eliminate the 1 & 2 denomination banknotes and replace them with coinage why print more notes? The coinage was already in place, along with the schedule for removal of the notes, yet more were printed. While I don't have concrete evidence of this my best guess is that these were produced for "souvenirs" to sell to the public, coinciding with the removal of these denominations. The only fault in that thought process is that no 5 & 10 hryven banknotes were produced in 2018, which were also being eliminated in early 2020.
    In 2018 there were already 5 & 10 hryven coins in circulation, along with the 1 hryvnia & 2 hryven, and there was apparently no need to produce more of these notes.  Granted that the 1 & 2 denominated notes had not been produced since 2015 & 2014 respectively, but the 5 & 10 notes hadn't been printed since 2015. I'm just having a hard time buying that the 2018 notes needed to be produced with their imminent removal from circulation on the horizon, already circulating coins, redesigns to all future denominations that were to remain in circulation for added security and rising inflation partially facilitating the removal of lower denomination notes and the introduction of a 1,000 hryven note. I'm not saying that some of these notes didn't circulate, but my thought is that their production was mainly facilitated as a means to produce added revenue from the sale of souvenirs in the form of uncut sheets and the like.
    Uncut sheet of two.


    Uncut sheet of six.


    Uncut sheet of 10


    Full Sheets, 60 notes.

    These two issues are by far the most common notes to find in full or partial sheets. I mean come on there is a seller on ebay who has 200 sheets, 60 notes each, of the 2 hryven denomination for sale as one lot, that's 12,000 notes! There was one run of each the 1 & 2 hryvnia denominations produced, the prefix ЮК was used for both notes with the Smolii signature, which was not previously used on these notes, as he became acting Governor in May of 2017 after Hontareva resigned and wasn't officially elected Governor by the Central Rada until March 15, 2018. How bad did he want is signature on some banknotes?  
    As previously mentioned, these notes are not in the SCWPM and PMG has not graded any examples of either note. I expect Pick # 116Ad to be assigned to the 1 hryvnia note and Pick # 117e to be assigned to the 2 hryven note once examples are sent to PMG. It seems that PMG is now assigning Pick #'s as notes are submitted, most likely due to the future of the SCWPM being very much up in the air. I'd be surprised if the SCWPM returns for another edition anytime soon, maybe never. There are plenty more unlisted Ukrainian notes out there, and world notes in general, so keep your eyes peeled. If you find a note that was left out don't worry, you've found something worth keeping. Maybe.  Good luck! 
  2. Fenntucky Mike
    I recently read a PMG article titled "Collection Inspiration: Women Writers". In the article a Ukrainian note is referenced, the 200 Hryven banknote, featuring Lesya Ukrainka on the front of the note. In the article a brief description was given about the Poetess and the note, PMG chose to highlight the 2nd series note (good choice) and I thought I would take the opportunity to expand on the evolution of the note itself. 
    After Ukraine declared independence from the USSR in 1991 the two countries remained tethered to one another monetarily. Russian rubles circulated freely in Ukraine and were used in conjunction with the newly released karbovantes coupons (karbovantsi for 2 -4 , karbovantsiv for 5 or more). When circumstances dictated that the two countries sever all monetary ties completely, on November 12 1992, this meant that the coupons were now the sole currency in Ukraine, to be used for all transactions. An exchange rate of ruble to karbovantes was established as 1:1 and the sum of exchange was without limit. This parting of ways lead to massive inflation (up to 11,000%) with the coupons and the need for monetary reform was immediate. The Ukrainian government had been working on a national currency as early as 1991 and the first Hryvnia banknotes were designed and printed by CBNC in 1992 with a second issue in 1994 by TDLR, but finalization of the new currency and distribution wouldn't happen until September 2, 1996 when the hryvnia was officially introduced as Ukraine's national currency, the exchange rate of karbobanets to hryvnia was set at 100,000 : 1. The NBU issued 1,2,5,10, 20, 50 and 100 hryvnia banknotes into circulation, these were the 1st issued notes of hryvnia. The first issue notes were a mix match of printers, artists and designs making the fist issue seem inconsistent. There were two different designs for the 1 hryven released on the same date from two different printers (CBNC in 1992 and NBU in 1994), the 2, 5, 10 & 20 were printed by the CBNC in 1992, the 50 and 100 were printed by TDLR in (estimate) 1994 and are a completely different design from the lower denominations. Both the 50 & 100 are considered 2nd issue notes even though they were released at the same time as the 1st issue notes. The 2nd issue notes are again a mix match of printers and designs the 1, 2, & 20 were printed by the NBU the 5, 10, 50, 100 & 200 were printed by TDLR. The 200 hryven note was issued 5 years after the 2nd series was first issued, again this note was presumably printed in 1994 which would mean these notes were in a vault for 7 years prior to being released. The NBU took over all banknote design and printing in 1997 and has printed all Ukrainian banknotes since.
    So the first hryvnia series not having a 200 Hryven note means that this denomination does not have as many design changes as some of the lower value notes. (Although the 1, 2, 5 & 10 hryvnia banknotes have since been discontinued (starting with the 4th series) and replaced by coins.) Below is the first 200 hryven note, printed in 1994 and issued in 2001, it was replaced in 2007 by the 3rd series note and remained in circulation until Oct 1, 2020 when it ceased to be a means of payment and was no longer accepted as a cash payment in Ukraine. Artistic design wise, it's a good first effort but not very flattering to the subject. The portrait was taken from images of the poetess later in life. The color pattern, portrait and overall design leave much to be desired.

    Here is the 3rd series 200 Hryven note (2nd 200 hryven note), the artists and NBU pretty much knocked it out of the park with this design. This is probably the most popular modern Ukrainian note, design wise, and deservedly so.

    Finally, here is the 4th series (3rd 200 hryven note). Just some small tweaks to the overall design from the 3rd series note to this one. A toned down color palette, sharper portrait and more stylized reverse design are the major changes. 

    The subject matter of the 200 hryven note has remained the same throughout, a portrait of Lesya Ukranika on the front and a depiction of the entrance tower of Lutsk Castle (or Lubart's Castle) in Lutsk where she live for a short time.
    Born Larysa Petrivna Kosach - Kvitka, she was forced to adopt the pseudonym Lesya Ukrainka at the time of here first published poem, as Ukrainian language publications were illegal at that time in the Russian Empire. Because of this many of here Ukrainian language publications were printed in Western Ukraine, which at the time was under Austro-Hungarian rule, and were then smuggled into Kiev for distribution. She was a prolific writer of poems, plays, short stories, and sociopolitical articles and essays. Some of the early inspiration for her early writings came from the works of Taras Shevchenko and Ivan Franko, both of who are featured on Ukrainian currency, the 100 & 20 Hryven notes respectively. Ukrainka was vocal advocate for freedom of speech, women's rights and an independent Ukrainian state free from Czarist rule. On August 1, 1913 after an almost life long battle with extrapulmonary tuberculosis of the bones she died at a Georgian health resort at the age of 42, four years prior to Ukraine gaining a brief but chaotic independence starting in 1917 until 1920.
    Here is one of her poems titled Contra Spem Spero (Hope Against Hope)
    Thoughts away, you heavy clouds of autumn!
    For now springtime comes, agleam with gold!
    Shall thus in grief and wailing for ill-fortune
    All the tale of my young years be told?

    No, I want to smile through tears and weeping.,
    Sing my songs where evil holds its sway,
    Hopeless, a steadfast hope forever keeping,
    I want to live! You thoughts of grief, away!

    On poor sad fallow land unused to tilling
    I'll sow blossoms, brilliant in hue,
    I'll sow blossoms where the frost lies, chilling,
    I'll pour bitter tears on them as due.

    And those burning tears shall melt, dissolving
    All that mighty crust of ice away.
    Maybe blossoms will come up, unfolding
    Singing springtime too for me, some day.

    Up the flinty steep and craggy mountain
    A weighty ponderous boulder I shall raise,
    And bearing this dread burden, a resounding
    Song I'll sing, a song of joyous praise.

    In the long dark ever-viewless night-time
    Not one instant shall I close my eyes,
    I'll seek ever for the star to guide me,
    She that reigns bright mistress of dark skies.

    Yes, I'll smile, indeed, through tears and weeping
    Sing my songs where evil holds its sway,
    Hopeless, a steadfast hope forever keeping,
    I shall live! You thoughts of grief, away!
    (Translations will vary)
    In addition to the 200 hryven banknote Lesya Ukrainka is also featured on postage stamps, coins and medals of Ukraine, below is the 1,000,000 karbovantsiv NCLT coin.

     
  3. Fenntucky Mike

    It's Never Enough (For Me!)

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Pick #1b, 100 Karbovantsiv
    So, this is me toning down descriptions for my banknotes. I'm not sure why this is such a source of angst for me but I have to believe at the core of it is my desire to produce something that's halfway legible, informative and enjoyable, not just content for the sake of it and my distain of a word limit. Meh, well the only way I'm going to know is if I throw some of it out there for critiquing to the PMG Journal audience, all four of you. 
    I'm working on a basic structure, well not really, it's the same structure I've had from the beginning but I like it I want to see if it works for all my notes. Below is what I'm thinking for the description of Pick # 1b, of course the images won't be in the description so enjoy those while you can (Ahem! Might be a nice feature in the future PMG/NGC along with a higher word limit, just saying.)  and I've trimmed down the original by roughly half, which is still not small enough to fit in the note description field.  Anyway, I think I'll have to cut everything below the Security Features to fit this into the note description. I still have some work to do on it, a little more research, fact checking, some polishing of the writing and a little reorganizing of the text but I think it's far enough along to get some opinions of it and once done I'll be able to think about how best to trim this down to fit in the note description. At this rate I'll be done sometime in the next year or two,  well here you go, opinions/critiques welcome
    .

     
    PICK #     1b (Back Inverted)
    UKRAINIAN PAPER MONEY #    1a (Back Inverted)
    BANKNOTE REGISTER #    N/A
    ESPERANTO #    N/A
    BANKNOTE BOOK #    N/A
    PRINT DATE:     1917
    TOTAL PRINTED:    N/A
    IN CIRCULATION:    December 23, 1917 – November 1, 1918
    DENOMINATION:    100 Karbovantsiv
    DIMENTIONS (L X W)mm:    170 x 105
    SIGNATURE:    Mykhailo Kryvetskyi
    WATERMARK:    NONE
    PRINTER:    Kulzhenko Print Shop (Kiev)
    COLORS:    Yellow, Orange, Brown, Green, Violet 
    ARTIST/S:    (G)Heorhii Narbut
    FROM THE NATIONAL BANK OF UKRAINE: N/A
    OBVERSE: Top center is the text Ukrainian National (People’s) Republic, below is an octagonal cartouche in which is printed the denomination in text, overtop of the National Symbol the Tryzub (Trident). Radiating from the cartouche are various floral design elements in which are contained the Coat of Arms of Ukraine (lower left) and the combined Coat of Arms of the Cities Kyiv and Odessa. To the left and right of the cartouche is the denomination printed numerically, at the lower left is the signature of the Director of the Bank along with the year printed, to the lower right is the signature of the treasurer below which is the series and block number. All 1917, 100 karbovantsiv banknotes are from block A D 185, there are no other blocks. Contemporary counterfeits are known of this note, they can be spotted by the color ink used for the signatures and block number. Authentic notes will have black ink, the counterfeits have brown ink for the signatures and block number. 

     
    REVERSE: Upper left the notes denomination printed in Russian, upper right the notes denomination printed in Polish below which is the series number, center bottom the notes denomination printed in Yiddish (100 karbovantsiv). Top center, the text “State Credit Notes of the Ukrainian People’s Republic are provided with the State property of the Republic, namely: subsoil, forests, railways, State revenues, including revenues from the sugar monopoly and other monopolies.”. Center the numerical denomination in a cartouche, with decorative floral elements deriving from a basket. At the lower left is the text, in a cartouche, “State Credit Tickets of the Ukrainian People’s Republic are on par with gold coin”. At the lower right is the text, in a cartouche, “Those guilty of forging State Credit Tickets are punished by deprivation of rights and hard labor.”.

     
    SECURITY FEATURES: Baroque Design, wavey lines and a repeating design of 100 in a circle on the back. 
    NOTES:     The first banknote issued by the newly formed Ukrainian National (People’s) Republic (UNR) in 1917, with a denomination of 100 Karbovantsiv. The Central Rada, the legislative branch of the Ukrainian government, passed a provisional law regarding the issuance of the Ukrainian National Republic’s banknotes. Passed on December 19, 1917, it read in part: “Banknotes shall be issued in karbovantsi, one Karbovanets containing 17,424 dolias of pure gold and having 2 hryvnias or 200 shahs.” The dolia is an old imperial Russian measure of weight, equal to approximately 44 milligrams or .044 grams or .0016 ounces. The note was designed by a talented graphic artist (G)Heorhii Narbut, who would go on to design several of the fledgling Republic’s banknotes and stamps. Narbut designed the note using Ukrainian Baroque stylistic elements, though which were depicted many important ideological messages that reflected key aspects of state-building, such as the use of the Tryzub (Trident) and the various depictions of Flora symbolizing strength, unity and growth. The ornate detail of the design on the note along with the decorative fonts and colors used (particularly on the front of the note) earned it the nickname “fried eggs” amongst the people. The 100 karbovantsiv notes were printed by the Kulzhenko Print Shop in Kyiv on ordinary thick paper, which made them vulnerable to forgery. When the 100 karbovantsiv note entered circulation on December 23, 1917 it included the first-ever official representation of the Tryzub (Trident), 52 days ahead of its legislative adoption as the state emblem of the UNR. The appearance of the Tryzub on the country’s first paper money became a major impetus for the adoption of Grand Prince Volodymyr’s (958 – 1015) emblem as the UNR’s coat of arms. The (non-numerical) denomination of the note (100 karbovantsiv) was printed in four languages on it, Ukrainian on the front then Russian, Polish and Yiddish on the back. This was done to convey and affirm the UPR’s policy of equal treatment of the country’s ethnic minorities, which constituted one-quarter of Ukraine’s population at the time. Unfortunately the note was pulled from circulation/declared non-legal tender after less than a year of circulation, as the retreating Red Army left the city of Kyiv in 1918 they took with them, along with their loot, the cliché (stereotype) for making the banknotes of 100 karbovantsiv of the 1917 series. Therefore the UNR announced the exchange of the 100 karbovantsiv banknotes for others (Namely the new hryvnia banknotes as the Karbovanets denominations were replaced by the hryvnia for a short time, much as they would be again in 1996.)  up until November 1, 1918 after which they would not be accepted. 
    At the time there existed a confusing dual currency system in Ukraine, the Karbovanets was the original choice of the Central Rada in 1917 but it was soon replaced by the hryvnia. The Karbovanets was reestablished as a state currency by the Hetmanate in 1918 and after which there existed dual currency system where 2 hryvni were equal in value to 1 karbovanets. This currency duality was indicated on several banknotes of the period. 
    The Standard Catalog of World Paper Money lists the Pick # as 1b (Back Inverted), where as most other references list this note as 1a (Back inverted). This note is most commonly found with the inverted back in as much as this is the most common way in which this note was printed. An inverted back may not be proper or it may even have been a mistake, regardless as the most produced and most common example I would have expected it to be listed as 1a. 
    Sources:
    Wikipedia
    National Bank of Ukraine, Money Museum
    Ukrainian Paper Money – Dmitri Kharitonov - print date 11/30/2000
    Paper Money of Ukraine – Maxim Zagreb / Sergey Yatsenko - print date 2019  
    FULL CIRCLE / Ukraine’s Struggle for Independence 100 Years Ago 1917 – 1921 -Yurii Savchuk – print date 2019       
    The Ukrainian Weekly, Vol. LXI No. 5 – Article: NUMISMATICS: The “new” Hryvnia banknotes – not a first for Ukraine – Borys Zayachkivsky - Printed 1/31/1993
  4. 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.....
  5. 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.
  6. Fenntucky Mike

    Leave Out The Fiction. Heck No!

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Fantasy Notes
    Since the Invasion of Ukraine there have been several fantasy issues released by private entities. The sellers motives aside, some are quite attractive and of high quality with all the typical modern security features, while some are lacking in those areas and were seemingly "Xeroxed" on plain paper. Regardless, I thought it would be interesting to list a few here that caught my eye and see what others thought about them and of thier existence in general.
    I've posted this one already in the Latest Edition thread and it's a high-quality note with all the latest bells and whistles. A nice note with 100% of the proceeds going to relief for Ukraine when purchased direct from the printer. I've already posted the regular images so I'll post images of the note under UV here.


    Next we have a 0 Euro note, this one is of good quality as well with UV, security strip, etc.. Since I have the UV light out, I'll post pics of this note under UV as well.




    Next, we have someone taking the image from a recently released Ukrainian stamp and sticking it on a fantasy note. On lower quality paper, with watermark, UV fibers and not much else, with the print and ink also being of lower quality as well.  


    More notes from the same seller as the previous note, I don't have, nor have I seen any of these in hand but I imagine they are of the same quality as the previous note. Seller's images below.








    .... and on and on and on, this seller has/has had many many notes like these and I cannot fit them all in this entry. I have no plans on picking any of these up. The last note posted is a depiction of one of the entries for a commemorative coin contest that the NBU had a month or so ago. The image may very well end up on a official coin or banknote of Ukraine, along with the stamp image. More on that in a future Journal entry.
    Finally, as I'm running out of space in this entry are these three notes. Again, I have not seen these in hand, and I won't be getting any, but they look of similar to lower quality of the previous notes. Seller's images below.



    There are more fantasy notes out there and I could not possibly list all of them here, but I imagine there are even more to come. Even some commemoratives from the NBU. 
  7. Fenntucky Mike
    I was rearranging my books and making/installing a new shelf for them in my office at work, the ones that I keep there anyway, and it got me thinking about why I decided to acquire the books that I did for my Ukrainian banknote collection. The rhyme and reason behind my acquisitions of these tomes has swung wildly from start to present, I say present because I'm not done building my library and currently have two more references on the way after winning two auctions last night.  In the beginning my purchases were of the very general type, The SCWPM (modern issues), Banknote Book and The Catalog of Paper Money of Ukraine to name a few of the firsts and since I was really only focusing on the modern issues I didn't purchase any references that included notes prior to 1991. As my collection has expanded so to has my library, which now includes such references as Museum exhibit catalogs, biographies of artists, newspapers and out of print references dating back to 1953. Not to mention my multitudes of articles, images and documents I've accumulated from online sources and stored away like literary nuts for winter. (HA! literary nuts.)
    Newest books on the way, both are from the early 70's.

    Another thing that has struck me is how one book/reference has led to another, for example. I was reading an article in The Ukrainian Weekly which mentioned a museum exhibition that led me to purchasing the exhibition catalog Full Circle - Ukraine's Struggle for Independence 100 years ago, this in turn leads me to purchasing In Metal, On Paper and Narbut which was quickly followed by Money on Paper and finally the chain was broken when I picked up this note, just because I fell in love with the design when I saw it in Money on Paper. 


    I now realize that most if not all of my book purchases are connected in some similar manner. I would say a third of my Ukrainian reference books are in languages I can't read without my phone translator or hours spent typing out sentences in a Word document and then copy and pasting to an internet translator when the phone translation is not making complete sense but each book has proven invaluable to me in my collecting endeavors.
    It's funny, your library grows as your collection grows and that's just the way of the world but it really hadn't dawned on me until I had to find a place to put all these dang books.  No matter how many times I heard or read someone say it, I just never thought it would happen to me.  
    Let's see everyone's libraries, here's what I have going on at work!


    I'm working on getting rid of that stupid cable, just need to pick up an extension and it's gone. 
  8. Fenntucky Mike
    I spent the last 3 weeks scanning all of my banknotes and updating the images in my registry sets along with reorganizing my database where I have them all cataloged. Whew! The pictures I had taken early on had always bugged me, not taken straight on, dark and just blah. While using scanned images has limitations, especially on the modern notes with their moire patterns, grids and other anticounterfeiting printing techniques that are there to deter scanning. That said I didn't let the presence of these modern features stop me, even if they can/will make scanned images seem mushy with lack of detail and clean sharp lines sometimes, on older notes this is much less of an issue. At any rate it was the lesser of two evils for me, as my photography skills and equipment are pretty much nonexistent at this time. In the end I feel a high quality image with proper lighting, equipment and technique taken from straight on would net the absolute best results. But, new photography equipment and the time needed to learn is not anywhere in my near future, so I'll happily use scanned images for now. As far as the time and effort to scan everything???? Was so damn worth it!
    Here's some before and after.
    Terrible angle. Trash.

    Dark and out of focus. Weak! 

    Dingy looking and the note crooked in the holder. Why?                                   You can see how the anti-scanning features make the modern notes look mushy sometimes.

    What the hell? Why is this one pink? Pathetic. 

     
    Well, two thing's are obvious now that I'm actually looking at these side by side. One, I put almost zero time and effort into taking pictures and two, yes, scanning all my notes was well worth the time.
  9. Fenntucky Mike
    That empty slot for the P-125, 50 Hryven commemorative is sticking out like a sore thumb now that I have all the slots surrounding it filled. 

    I've had so many opportunities to purchase this note raw but other things keep popping up, the latest was an Isle of Man half sovereign last week. I have had the funds several times, I know were one is. Why can't I pull the trigger on this note!?  Well, I'm in the same position I was almost a year ago, waiting to accumulate funds to purchase this note. For the now the note and slot are just sitting there, available, empty and endlessly mocking me.
  10. Fenntucky Mike
    ...NOT!  Even if it was, I'm not sure it would be enough to pick up any of these beauties. 
    As is the norm, I'm striking out on some really sweet notes but at least I've have had the pleasure of seeing some awesome bills go up for auction. It seems more and more rarities and harder to find notes are coming out of the woodwork and are realizing sky high prices at auction. In addition to the rarities, fancy number notes are receiving more attention, an uncirculated 2007, 200 Hryvnia note with radar serial number 6698966 is currently bid up to 97 Euros. Whoa!  Common notes are holding steady unless a variety or condition rarity and banknotes in general seem to continue to pick up steam. Below are some of the highlights from the past few months.
    Two fantastic color trial notes went up for auction, along with an amazing printer's design note! I really wanted to snag one of these, especially that printer's design.  Unfortunately, all three slipped through my grasp as I was the underbidder on two and matched on one but my bid was deemed to have been placed after the other bid. 
    $537


    $600


    $685


     
    A couple of 2011, 50 Hryven commemorative notes were auctioned off recently. These notes are a manufactured rarity, with only 1,000 being produced, 200 of which were encased in acrylic blocks leaving only 800 available to collectors. This note annoys me to no end. Granted, with only 800 notes there are not many to go around but 800 examples available is not a low number for a note. It was sold specifically to the collectors market and the survival rate would be very high, probably 800/800, and I have a hard time believing that there are over 800 collectors, or speculators, out there willing to pay the prices these notes tend to achieve. There are just so many rarer Ukrainian notes out there that I'm surprised people go gaga over these, but that's not to say I wouldn't like to purchase one, I absolutely would, just not at these prices. 
    €1390 ($1546.86 USD)


    $4312.50 Wow!


    The 2 Karbowanez notes of 1942 are slightly annoying to me as well, mainly because I see so many go up for auction. It is supposed to be an uber rarity, which it is a rarity, but I've documented at least 26 of these notes by serial number in auctions over the last 2-3 years, with some notes being sold more than once. I see these more than the 2011, 50 Hryven commemorative notes above. At any rate they have an interesting history/story and are tied to WWII and Nazi Germany, which probably helps elevate prices as well. I was a little surprised at the prices realized for the first two notes as their condition is less than stellar, apparently condition didn't play much of a factor as they both sold for Princely sums. 
    €4236.4 ($4714.48 USD)


    €2880 ($3205 USD)


    The next two are currently available to bid on.
    Starting Bid €3200 Euros, ends 5/5

    Starting Bid €1800 Euros, ends 5/5

    Besides the big two there were many other strong prices realized for Ukrainian notes. 
    €884.5 Euros ($984.23 USD)


    €1081.20 Euros ($1203.11 USD)


    €4609.20 Euros ($5128.89 USD)


    €2767.2 Euros for the pair ($3079.20 USD). Rare prefix letter "B".


    €4105.20 Euros ($4588.06 USD), Uniface specimen.

    €4683 Euros ($5211.01 USD), Uniface Specimen

    €4969.20 Euros ($5529.48 USD), Uniface Specimen

    There were a few notes sold in a Katz auction today that brought strong prices, I'll post those in a reply to this Journal entry as I've maxed out the available space for images. 
  11. Fenntucky Mike

    No, Not Another Souvenir!

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    2021 30th Anniversary Commemorative Banknotes
    On January 17th the National Bank of Ukraine issued the final banknotes commemorating the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. Two commemorative sets were released containing all six denominations with matching serial numbers. The first set comes in a NBU envelope, the notes loose, with an issue limit of 3,000 sets and serial numbers ranging from ЯА0007000 - ЯА0009999. The second is in the form of a hardcover booklet, again, containing one commemorative note of each denomination with matching serial numbers. Each note is contained in a sleeve adhered to a page with some information about the note on the adjacent page, in both Ukrainian and English as is typical from the NBU. There were released 2,000 of the booklets with the serial numbers ranging from ЯА0005000 - ЯА0006999. The notes in both sets are identical to the notes previously released for individual purchase, have the same prefix ЯА, and were also part of the 30,000 issue limit per note. 
    Envelope (top), and booklet (bottom).

    Six denominations with matching serial numbers.

    Descriptive page for 1,000 UAH banknote (left), and 1,000 UAH banknote in booklet (right).

    These sets do not leave much for fancy number collectors to look for, due to the 30,000 limit, the seven digit number employed by Ukraine, and the number ranges used for the sets I can only think of five sets that would contain all fancy numbers. All are radars with the eight thousand number being a radar-rotator, (0005000, 0006000, 0007000, 0008000,0009000) I couldn't find any fancy sets.  The sets were again available through the NBU's website but judging by the number of online complaints the sets sold out in a matter of minutes, with multiple site crashes peppered in, and many people missing out. So, all you U.S. Mint collectors (me included), you're not alone. 
    I ended up picking up one of each set on Monday, via one of my go-to sellers in Ukraine, and really wasn't too much more than having purchased the individual notes. I should have just waited for the sets,  but I was able to pick up several fancy numbers from the individually released notes, including some matching fancy numbers, those were well worth the effort. A complete set of matching numbers outside of the ranges given for the sets would really be something and if one could pull that off with a fancy number, WOW! In the meantime, I'll be keeping an eye out for such things while waiting for my notes to arrive, as shipping from Ukraine has slowed to a snails pace the past month or two. 
    Both sets are currently available on the secondary market and can be still purchased for a reasonable price, but you'd better hurry because there are not a lot available. And I swear this is it for these commemorative notes. 
     
  12. Fenntucky Mike

    Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    2023 Commemorative Banknote "We Will Not Forget! We Will Not Forgive!"
    On February 23, 2023 the NBU issued into circulation the commemorative ₴20 banknote "WE WILL NOT FORGET! WE WILL NOT FORGIVE!", Andriy Pyshneyy, Governor of the NBU, presented the new banknote during a press conference earlier in the day. The commemorative note will have a limited run of 300k, all the notes will have prefix ЗС and be dated 2023 with Pyshneyy's signature donning the face. Serial numbers will range from 0000001 to 0300000, with 200k being available in folders and the other 99,900 in envelopes, per the NBU. The selling of commemorative banknotes in souvenir packaging and/or envelopes is typical of the NBU in recent years, and the shortage of 100 notes from the total availability of the envelopes is, presumably, either an error in the press release or some notes were held back to be distributed amongst a few individuals and institutions. The commemorative notes were available for purchase on February 24, through all the standard distributor banks of the NBU, as well as on the NBU's website. The security features are similar to those found on other circulating notes of Ukraine but are design specific to the note, a unique watermark, SPARK feature, micro-text, UV and IR features, etc. can all be found on the note. I'll take a wild guess and say that I expect Pick # 133a to be assigned to this note, or possibly P# CS4.

    The description of the banknote from the NBU is as follows:
    "The main image of the front of the note are three Ukrainian soldiers who are hoisting a Ukrainian state flag (photo entitled “Ukrainian soldiers are hoisting a flag” by Oleksandr Smirnov) against the backdrop of fragments of a map of [Eastern] Ukraine [and Crimea] and the flags of the countries that support Ukraine. [The flags of the United Kingdom, European Union, United States and Canada are visible] Above are the following texts (with a laurel wreath between them) in Ukrainian and English: "24 лютого 2022 року повномасштабним вторгненням російської армії розпочався новий етап збройної агресії проти України. Народна війна за незалежність і суверенітет України триває з 2014 року. Це також війна за цивілізаційний вибір: Україна відстоює свою приналежність до європейської цивілізації і водночас – ті засадничі цінності, права і свободи, що лежать в основі західного світу; On 24 February, a new stage of armed aggression against Ukraine began with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the russian army. The people’s war for the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine has been going on since 2014. This is also a war for a civilizational choice: Ukraine is defending its place in European civilization, and at the same time fighting for the fundamental values, rights and freedoms that underpin the Western world". Under the laurel wreath are the legend І НА ОНОВЛЕНІЙ ЗЕМЛІ ВРАГА НЕ БУДЕ... (And on the renovated land, there’ll be no enemy...) and a polymer thread containing the symbol of the hryvnia, the logotype of the National Bank of Ukraine, the shoulder patch of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, the emblem Ukraine’s Armed Forces and the legend СЛАВА УКРАЇНІ, ГЕРОЯМ СЛАВА (Glory to Ukraine, Glory to the Heroes). The banknote’s face value 20 is beneath to the left, while the vertical legend ДВАДЦЯТЬ ГРИВЕНЬ (twenty hryvnias) is to the right of the soldiers. There is also a stylized steppe with poppies symbolizing Ukraine’s dead defenders."
    Photo by Oleksandr Smirnov below.

    "The main image of the back of the note is a stylized composition that symbolizes the physical and mental suffering of Ukrainians under occupation – hands tied behind a person’s back, against the background of crumpled cloth, behind which a figure with a bullet wound in the form of a poppy is suggested (designed by Serhii Mishakin); on both sides of the figure are stylized wings made from candle flames; above, against the backdrop of the outlines of destroyed houses is a crown of thorns that stands for martyrdom; to the right of the crown is a security feature – a colored composition consisting of a guilder rose and an anti-tank hedgehog. The back of the note also features the legend “ПАМЯТАЄМО! НЕ ПРОБАЧИМО! НІКОЛИ!” (We will not forget! We will not forgive! Never!) (under the crown of thorns), while also depicting a kind of illusion – stylized poppies that stand for bloody bullet wounds." The banknote was designed by one of the NBU's go to artists, Volodymyr Taran. 
    In May of 2022 the commemorative banknote was scheduled for release in December of that year but was delayed/pushed back to February of 2023, presumably due to production/design difficulties brought on by the war and to coincide with the 1-year anniversary of the Russian invasion. Also, if you didn't know already, the NBU's next commemorative note is currently scheduled for release in December of '23, entitled "Long Live Ukraine". I expect that the commemorative ₴20 banknote in December will be a completely new design as well. 

    With a print run of 300k I wouldn't call this note scarce but being a completely new design, with powerful imagery and context, I expect this note to be in high demand, as opposed to the ₴500 Skovoroda commemorative note issued in December of 2022 which was comprised of 2021 dated notes with the previous Governor's signature and OVI overprint in the form of the festival logo. With a much smaller run of 50k the (2022) commemorative Skovoroda notes are still readily available at reasonable prices. The "WE WILL NOT FORGET! WE WILL NOT FORGIVE!" commemorative notes are currently available as various online selling platforms in the $20 range, not including shipping, but can be found for much more reasonable prices if dealing direct with Ukrainian sellers. Prices have climbed since the first listings were posted on the 23rd. Who's Buying?

    The new commemorative banknote measures in at 80 x 165mm making it the largest banknote issued by the NBU, both length and width, since Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The previous "largest" banknote was the circulating ₴1000 with dimensions of 75 x 160mm. This is also the first vertically oriented banknote issued by the NBU in modern times, with the only other vertically oriented notes being the postage-stamp currency of 1918, the Shahiv. In 2020 the NBU released a souvenir (fantasy) note celebrating the first astronaut of Independent Ukraine, Leonid Kadeniuk. The souvenir was not intended for circulation and carried no value, but it was vertically oriented and measured 80 x 170mm, making it slightly larger than the new commemorative, with similar orientation. The NBU also released a test note in 2008, horizontally oriented with no value, that measured in at a whopping 95 x 180mm making it the largest "note" the NBU has released in modern times.


  13. 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. 
     
     
  14. 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.......
  15. Fenntucky Mike
    Recently, I've been burning up some spare funds I acquired through sales of some duplicates in my coin collections. I've been busy using some of these newly rediscovered monies to focus on gathering up several Ukrainian banknotes for my sets. I have been hitting the banknotes really hard the last two weeks due to several factors eluded to in a previous journal entry (over $1,800 an ounce on 7/8/2020).  It just so happened that several notes popped up for sale that were either perfect matches for empty slots or upgrades in my sets. Funny how when you have some extra "mad" money you find the perfect thing to spend it on fairly quickly, hmmmm. Needless to say I bid on all of the notes and won most of them (not a lot of competition for Ukrainian notes). At the time I saw the notes and even more so now, I can't help but have a feeling of being spied on. That the seller looked at my registry set, looked in his inventory and sent some notes in for grading, Bing. Bang. Boom. Notes for me and a profit for them. Good for them if that's the case, that just seems like good business and paying attention to your market if true. I noticed today when looking at the population report for Ukrainian banknotes that the total graded increased by 15 which might as well be a hundred when talking Ukrainian banknotes. Another bulk submission from this seller? I guess I'll find out, let's go for broke. 
    The latest banknotes to roll in this week, more on the way.

    Man, I need to get going on some descriptions for these notes!
  16. Fenntucky Mike

    Secret Secret I've Got A Secret (Part 1)

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Control Coupons
    Not really, but I thought I'd share a few of the lesser-known varieties of Ukrainian Control Coupons from the second series, what I consider the second series (P#88-93, excluding 91A & 91B, issued 1992, '93 & '95), not found in the Standard Catalog Of World Paper Money and draw a few conclusions along the way.
    Descriptions of the second series from the latest, probably last printed, edition of the SCWPM. 2019, 25th edition, try to ignore the notations I've added many more since this image was taken. 

    One day while searching for Ukrainian notes I stumbled across a listing for two 1992 500 Karbovantsiv banknotes, nothing unusual about that per se, but upon further examination of the seller's listing they provided an image of both notes under UV lighting where one of the notes mas missing some UV features when compared to the other, in addition the seller was offering to send a free article on two, unlisted, varieties (I checked to verify) and I was sold. I picked up the two notes forthwith, the asking price was miniscule, and requested a copy of the article which the seller sent without hesitation. Nice!
    Images of the two 500 Karbovantsiv control coupons under UV lighting and scanned.


    The note with serial number 236/27 414059 is lit up like a Christmas tree when compared to note 088/6 316174. The fractional prefix and serial number (236/27 414059) are much more illuminated under UV, the repeating pattern behind the numeric denomination and the word КУПОН (COUPON, not illuminated) along with the numeric denomination (500) are also illuminated under UV, while those features are completely missing on the top note (088/6 316174). What's going on?
    The article I received was written by Dmitry Zagorenko and Evgeniy Likhatsky, sorry if I got your names wrong guys, it is written in Russian/maybe Ukrainian (I translated it both ways and the Russian translation from Google was more coherent, I kind of mashed bits of both together in my English version ), and I had to translate it so there might have been a few of the finer details lost in translation but for the most part the translation was a success. I'll be referencing this study several times here and will refer to it as the "article" moving forward, if anyone wants a copy of the original or my English translation let me know and I'll send you a copy. 
    In the article there is no mention of a difference between varieties involving the UV features but instead lists two other differences between the notes along with numerator and denominator ranges for the Type 1 (S# 236/27 414059) and Type 2 (S# 088/6 316174) notes. In short, the article details a contrast difference between the T1 & 2 notes in the background behind the prefix and serial number, and a spacing difference between the fractional prefix and serial number. Also mentioned in the article is that T1 & 2 notes are not confined to this denomination and that they are also found in the 100, & 1000 Karbovantsiv notes of this series (issue) as well. T1 & 2 notes of the 200 Karbovantsiv denomination in the same series are reported to exist but had not been confirmed at the time of the article's publishing and they did not include the 2000 or 5000 denominated notes in the study, although early research on my part indicates that the same "varieties" exist in those denominations and perhaps the third series notes as well. T1 notes have a lighter background behind the fractional prefix and serial number and wider spacing between fractional prefix and serial number, T2 notes have a darker background behind the fractional prefix and serial number and closer spacing between the fractional prefix and serial number.
    I'm only going to detail the 1992 dated, 500 Karbovantsiv second series notes in this Journal entry, as space for images is limited. The lightening of the background mentioned in the article is present in the note with serial number 088/6 316174, along with wider spacing between the prefix and serial number. The note with serial number 236/27 414059 exhibits the darker background behind the prefix and serial number and closer/no spacing between the prefix and serial number that was described in the article. The note with S# 088/6 316174 is a T1 variety and the note with S# 236/27 414059 is a T2 variety. 
    The background behind the prefix and serial number has been clearly lightened on both varieties, presumably to increase the visibility of the prefix and serial number, with an approximately 38 x 3-millimeter rectangle relieved in that area of the design. The authors of the article speculate that the original lightening of the design was not sufficient to improve the visibility of the prefix and serial number and a second attempt at lightening the design was undertaken. I don't necessarily disagree that the lighter background was done after the original relief, but I would have changed the variety designation in that regard, calling the darker background note T1 and the lighter T2. Regardless, I think their thinking is sound in the order of how these were printed.

    Composite image of the area between the prefix and serial number of the T1 note.

    Composite image of the area between the prefix and serial number of the T2 note.

    Some might question that the plates were modified and suggest the application of the ink is the reason for the lightening of the area behind the prefix and serial number but that does not appear to be the case to me. At least I'm not sure how it could be done by solely adjusting the ink in a 38 x 3mm rectangle during production? Purely a guess on my part but my initial thought on how the printing plate was/could have been modified would be that the engraving was lowered/relieved lessening the ink transfer in that area.? Having to modifying every single point in the engraving seems like a nightmare to me and something I would try to avoid.  Or maybe some sort of chemical, or wax(?), was applied to that area of the plate to limit the amount of ink that adhered to it, thereby further lightening the area behind the prefix and serial number? If that was the case I would still lean towards a variety. Just thinking out loud...
    The second difference noted in the article is the spacing between the fractional prefix and serial number, in the T1 notes there is a noticeably wider gap between the fractional prefix and serial number, almost one complete digit or one complete digit. This does seem to ring true overall, based on the small sample size of notes in my collection, three dozen or so, and images of other notes available online, although the spacing is not consistent. Without knowing the sequence of steps in the printing process for these notes it's difficult to say with any certainty the reason for the gap variance but my initial theories would include that the fractional prefix was overprinted independently of the serial number and the serial numbers added after the prefix, (whether the process was retooling and running the sheets through again or maybe that the tooling for the prefix and serial number applications were inline but independent of one another) or that both were applied via a numbering wheel with a fractional prefix attachment where the spacing varied. Of the two I would think the prefix and serial number being added separately in some manner is the most likely due to small variances within the large and narrow gap varieties, which would most likely be a result of the printed sheets being slightly misaligned or "floating" as the prefix and serial numbers were added. It is a very normal thing to see serial number placement on notes vary and float around in the general location that they should be in. I'm not completely sold on the spacing between the prefix and serial number being a 100% accurate identifier for T1 & 2 notes as it does not seem consistent enough to my liking. More on that in a future journal entry.

    In addition to the two variations already mentioned between T1 & 2 notes, the authors of the article try to identify within which fractional prefix ranges the T1 & 2 varieties exist/were produced. In the article they identify all T1 notes as having a numerator of between 001-108 and all T2 notes with numerators between 201-250. The authors also give a range of denominators, series, in which the T1 &2 varieties exist for each denomination, below are two tables from the article.
    Below, table of denominators of T1 notes.

    Below, table of denominators of T2 notes.

    This would mean that for the 500 Karbovantsiv control coupons dated 1992 all T1 notes would have numerators between 001-108 and denominators of 5,6,7,8 and 15, all T2 notes would have numerators between 201-250 and denominators of 26,27 and 28. These number ranges seem to be accurate based on my small sample size of notes but there is much work to be done in this area in regards to refining the ranges for all denominations. 
    The article also touches on specimens (of which there have been no T1 & 2 varieties found within the same denomination), replacements (for which both varieties have been found, T1's being rarely found in uncirculated condition and T2's being rarely found in circulated condition), and tries to correlate the serial number (first three digits) with either how/where they were produced, order of release and which bank branches the were sent to, but I'm not going to touch on any of those topics at this time. All in all the article was an interesting read, with some interesting thoughts on these notes, and I enjoyed it. The real question is are the T1 & 2 notes really varieties? I tend to lean towards yes based on what seems to be a modification to the printing plates, not so much the prefix and serial number spacing, and time will tell if these become accepted as such. If the T1 & T2 note varieties are verified and do become accepted/collected in by individuals then that will mean there will be at least three new varieties in need of Pick #'s, for the 100, 500 & 1000 denominations, and in all likely hood based on what I'm seeing new Pick #'s for the 200, 2000 & 5000 as well. This will mean six new Control Coupon varieties. Time to add some new notations to my copy of the SCWP. 
    Now, back to the missing UV ink on the T1 note, prefix and serial number 088/6 316174! Where is it and is this note another variety? Well, it seems to have nothing to do with the T1 & 2 varieties of these notes, which I had initially thought when first purchasing them, as I have sufficient T1 & 2 notes WITH the UV features. So my only conclusions are that the non-UV note is either an error with missing UV ink, or the UV ink was intentionally removed to make it appear as an error, or the UV ink faded somehow. I see no evidence of tampering at this time, and I've not heard of the UV ink fading/waring over time, so in my mind that really only leaves one option. An error. That's how I'll be labeling it in my collection at any rate, along with the T1 designation and maybe a question mark or two on the label. 
    I went ahead and picked up a few quarter bundles of 1992, 500 Karbovantsiv banknotes, fifty notes total, and they are all circulated with varying prefix and serial numbers. I figure that this will give me a better sample size and with the notes in hand I'll be able to examine them and place all of them under UV. I'll report back if I find anything interesting. 
  17. Fenntucky Mike

    Secret Secret I've Got A Secret (Part 2)

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Unlisted Varieties
    In further researching the subject of Type 1 & 2 notes of the second series control coupons of 1992, 500 Karbovantsiv notes only, and acquiring and examining roughly 75 circulated notes and a dozen uncirculated, in addition to viewing another 100 or so examples online, there appears to be additional identifying markers between the two variants. Whether these markers are due to plate, ink or production variations is not known, by me anyway,  but they have so far held true when used with the original fractional prefix denominator number ranges given in my previous Journal entry for T1 & 2 notes and the initial indicators used i.e., gapping between prefix and serial number and light or dark shading in the area of the prefix and serial number. 
    In addition to the original diagnostics, it would appear that the T1 notes with denominators of 5,6,7,8 &15 were more heavily inked, or a darker ink mix was used in certain areas, specifically, on the face, the word КУПОН (COUPON) and the numerical denomination 500 located immediately below, on the back, the ornamentation has the same light and dark variations. On the face of T1 notes the word КУПОН is darker than on the T2 notes, as is the numerical denomination below, and on the back of the T1 notes the ornamentation around the numerical denominations is lighter than on the T2 notes, also, the central ornamentation on the back of T1 notes is again lighter than on the T2 notes. Also, all replacement notes (denominator 99) seem to be universally of the T2 variety, having the same diagnostics that are associated with the T2's.

    T2 notes (including replacements) are much more easily found in uncirculated condition which would suggest a common printing date/production after the T1 notes and this would follow an ascending numbering sequence for the denominators. T2 notes with denominator 28 seem to be rare at best, as I have yet to cross paths with one. Of the 75 circulated notes I have 48 are T1's and 27 are T2's, this falls in line with the number of denominators used for T1 and T2 circulating notes, five denominators for T1 notes and three for T2 notes, 5:3, assuming all production runs with unique denominators were of roughly the same size.

     
    Unfortunately, even though additional diagnostic markers have been found to differentiate between T1 and T2 notes I am no closer to figuring out what is going on with the UV ink in the numerical denomination and background on the face of the note, as all of the circulated notes either have none or only slight traces of UV in those areas. Most of the circulated notes show no signs of UV, leaving me to believe that it has worn off? The uncirculated notes that I have are too few to come to any conclusions on what notes may have UV ink and which do not. The only notes of this type that have had UV ink in the denominator and background every time are the replacement notes, this would lead me down the path that all T2 notes would also have UV ink since they share everything else in common and yet the circulated notes do not reflect this assumption.   More on that later, I hope, as I have another hundred circulated notes from a different source on the way. 
    Just for fun I took a pic of the face and back of a mix of twenty-four T1 and T2 notes, not having been previously identified in this journal entry, and I wonder if anyone wants to take a shot at identifying the T1 and T2 notes in the image. Most of the prefix and serial numbers are covered up so you'll have to use the second set of diagnostics given in this Journal entry to identify them.   Although I guess you could go back, using the totals and notes I've already posted, to come up with the numbers.  So no cheating.  I'll post the answer key later in the week, all notes are in the same location in each picture. Good luck. 

  18. Fenntucky Mike

    Shahiv It Up, Baby, Now

    By Fenntucky Mike,


    Shahiv Issues
    The Ukrainian Postage Stamp Currency of 1918, with denominations of 10, 20, 30, 40 & 50 Shahiv, are odd little ducks but not in the context of the times. World War I would rage most of the year until the Armistice Agreement on November, 11, the Spanish Flu pandemic was beginning, the Russian Revolution was in full swing and the newly established People's Republic of Ukraine (June, 1917) was toppled via coup d'etat complements of the Imperial German Army which was occupying Kyiv at the time and then promptly installed Pavlo Skoropadsky as Hetman in April 1918 for an exchange of supplies expropriated from the people of Ukraine in order to fight the Bolshevik Red Army which was on the doorstep of Kyiv. There was a sever lack of supplies, a sever need for currency and a new Dictator/Government. The Ukrainian People needed banknotes issued by the new Government now. The quickest solution (in lieu of coin as there was a metals shortage at the time) was to issue Postage Stamp Currency until new larger denomination notes could be produced in Berlin. Karbovanets were the official monetary unit of Ukraine at the time with 1 Karbovanets = 2 Hryvni = 200 Shahiv, the Postage Stamp Currency was essentially, pocket change. 
    Forms, 1 = Shah, 2 - 4 = Shahy, 5+ = Shahiv
    Printed on card stock, in April of 1918, the Shah notes were the first circulating currency of the new regime. Although now a Dictatorial State under the control of Hetman Skoropadsky the previous title of Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was still used on all currency issued during his reign along with the National Symbol, The Tryzub. There are several known varieties along with a specimen consisting of the five fronts of the different denominations and a single reverse printed on a cardboard sheet measuring 260 x 185 mm with Ukrainian and Russian descriptive text, which strangely enough uses the description Ukrainian State as opposed to UPR and only depicts a single reverse design when two were used. All denominations contained the same text on the front and back, the only significant change (excluding the artwork/design) was the numerical display of the denomination. 

     
    The text on the back which, according to Microsoft Translator, says "Walks on par with the ringing coin." could also be translated as "Is on par with the ringing coin." or "On par with the ringing coin.". The phrase "ringing coin" is interesting to me as I wonder if it has some other significance beyond the obvious that when coin is dropped on a hard surface is makes a ringing sound? Or does it refer to something else like a specific type of metal or coin characteristic, maybe it was just a generic phrase or something else?  Ukraine did not mint or have any coins minted of its own until after its Independence in 1991, so what is this phrase referring to? Possibly, it is referring to being "on par" with Russian coinage, specifically a 1/2 kopek which was also referred to as a Shah at the time and freely circulating.
    There are five denominations of Shahiv (10, 20, 30, 40 & 50), with the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money listing three varieties. Below is a list of all varieties, including those not listed in the SCWP and those assumed to exist but are not yet known. There are potentially 20 notes, including varieties and counterfeits, to be collected for this issue.

    Perforated Varieties.

    The designs of the Shahiv were done by two of the greatest Ukrainian graphic artists of the time, maybe the greatest ever, Heorhii Narbut who designed the 30, 40 & 50 Shahiv notes and Antin Sereda who designed the 10 and 20 Shahiv notes. Heorhii Narbut was one of the founders of the first Ukrainian Art Academy and built the printing technologies unit from scratch. Narbut designed the government's logo (Tryzub) and seals, letterhead for it's charters and official stationery. He also created a line of postage stamps and designed 13 of the 24 banknotes issued between 1917 - 1920 for the fledgling Nation. Antin Sereda studied under Narbut at the Art Academy and later illustrated the cover to the catalog of a posthumous exhibition of Narbut's works in 1926. I'll have a Journal entry exclusively on Narbut in the near future.
    There are two different reverse designs for the series, although the designs are (so far) specific to certain denominations. A double box used on the 10, 20 & 30 Shahiv notes and a single box used on the 40 & 50 Shahiv notes. The specimen print displays only the double box reverse as would be expected as the first three denominations used this design and are presumed printed first. Although none are known to exist I would not be surprised if examples of both reverses on all denominations exist, especially at the transition between the 30 & 40 Shahiv notes. I would expect that a 40 Shahiv double box or 30 Shahiv single box reverse would be the most likely to have been produced.
    10, 20 & 30 Shahiv double box reverse.

    40 & 50 Shahiv single box reverse.

    Stamps of the same obv design were issued in July of 1918 on very thin paper and gummed back with no printing. The first edition was imperforated when issued but individual businesses and post offices would perforate the sheets on occasion. Later editions may have been released with perforations.


     
    With inflation running rampant the Shahiv banknotes were quickly forgotten as new higher denomination banknotes of up to 1,000 karbovantsiv were issued. In November of 1918 Skoropadsky was removed from power in an uprising led by socialist Symon Petliura after the withdrawal of German forces from Kyiv. Eventually on December 14, 1918 Skoropadsky abdicated and fled to Berlin and the Ukrainian People's Republic was restored with power vested in a Directoria, a provisional government of five directors as opposed to the Central Rada that formed the legislative branch in the previous incarnation of the UPR. An independent Ukrainian Government would exist in some form until 1921 but the Shahiv were long forgotten by then, a grain of sand in the hourglass that was Ukraine's brief Independence at the beginning of the 20th Century. 
  19. Fenntucky Mike
    In late 2019 the NBU announced that it was reviving it's annual "Banknotes and Coins of Ukraine" catalog. They followed that announcement with the free release of the catalog for the years 2015 - 2019 in .pdf format, 2014 being the last year the catalog was released prior to 2019. Now here we are, 2020, and the NBU has remained true to their word, releasing the 2020 catalog just a few days ago.  They had some big releases in their commemorative coin line up but the banknote issues/releases were relatively quiet in 2020 beyond the issue of a souvenir note commemorating Ukraine's first astronaut. The only new issue was the 200 Hryven banknote from the latest series of notes, way back on February 25. The catalog is free to download in English language and is again in .pdf format. Check it out. https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/banknoti-i-moneti-ukrayini-2020-rik 
    I'll save those of you the suspense of downloading the entire catalog just for the banknote section, here it is.


  20. Fenntucky Mike
    The Forum is back up and working again for me! Yes! 
    Anyway, there has been some news from Ukraine over the 4-week break. In the past month two new notes were released, with one sporting the signature of the new Governor of the NBU, Andriy Pyshnyy. 
    On Dec. 12 the NBU put into circulation 100 Hryven notes dated 2022 and bearing the signature of the newly appointed Governor. This was a quick turnaround from appointment, Oct. 7th, to new notes, Dec 12th, I'm sure some U.S. collectors would be jealous at the quick turnaround although it did only take three months once new Treasure Malerba was sworn in. The note is of the same design as previous 100 Hyrven notes, design of 2015, and is the only denomination issued so far with the Pyshnyy signature. We'll see how quickly the other denominations are released and if any others will be dated 2022 or if the rest will be dated for the current or upcoming years. I have to say that the Pyshnyy signature is fantastic, bold, flowing, legible, probably the best signature to date on modern Ukrainian notes. This should end up being Pick # 126d once one is assigned.

    Signature of Governor Pyshnyy.

    The second new note released (Dec. 29th) was the 500 Hryven banknote commemorating the 300th Anniversary of Hryhoriy Skovoroda's birth. The commemorative note is of the same design as previous 500 Hryven notes, design of 2015, and bears the official symbol of the 300th anniversary celebration. The celebration symbol/logo is located directly over the watermark, similar to the 30th anniversary notes of 2021, and was applied by screen printing with optically variable ink. The logo depicts a silhouette of the sage/poet Skovoroda along with the text СВІТ СКОВОРОДИ (The world of Skovoroda). Interestingly enough the notes are all dated 2021 and bear the signature of the previous NBU Governor Kyril Shevchenko, I suspected that these notes would have Shevchenko's signature but thought that they would be dated 2022. I'm not sure why notes dated 2021 were used, must of just had some laying around.  I believe this note will be assigned Pick # 132a when the dust settles. 

    The Skovoroda commemorative has a print run of 50k, with 30k being sold in souvenir packaging, 554 UAH ($15.06), and 20k sold in plain NBU envelopes, 541 UAH ($14.71). All notes have the prefix ГС with the serial numbers ranging from 0000001 - 0050000, I'll be looking for some fancy # notes, binary specifically. 
    Other Ukrainian banknote news includes the NBU bumping the release of the planned 20 Hryven commemorative banknote "The Russian-Ukrainian War. We Will Not Forgive!" from December 2022 to February 2023, I imagine this note will have the Pyshnyy signature and be dated 2023 but we'll see. Also scheduled in 2023 is another 20 Hryven commemorative banknote "Long Live Ukraine", the anticipated release is in December with a run of 300k.
    It's good to be back. 
  21. 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.
  22. Fenntucky Mike
    ...as I'm bowing out of these auctions. 
    Timing was never something that seemed to worked in my favor, neither was luck, but with both being somewhat out of my control I can only sit back and watch as more amazing notes hit the auction block.  Namely, three color trials and a printer's design being auctioned by the same seller who listed the 42 specimens only a few weeks ago. I suppose having a severe case of not wanting to let go, a set discretionary budget, and an acute lack of patience probably doesn't help my cause either. 
    First is a 1993, 2000 Karbovantsiv color trial note. This is the fourth such note that this seller has listed, the first three being graded 67EPQ x 2 and another 66EPQ by PMG. The 67s went for $600, not including taxes and shipping, and an offer was accepted on a $999 BIN price for the second. The previous 66EPQ was listed with a BIN price of $999, with an offer being accepted for the note earlier this year. Bidding on the below note is currently over $500. Hopefully this seller has a few more up their sleeve and I'll be in a position to bid on them.
    EDIT TO ADD: HAMMERED AT $720


    Next is a 1992, 100 Karbovantsiv color trial note. I don't have any records of this note, or another, being auctioned, making this note a first time offering of the type. Bidding is currently up to $505 on this note as well, but it should go much higher. 
    EDIT TO ADD: HAMMERED AT $710


    Also, we have what I believe to be another color trial but it is labeled as a P#88s. A #88s is a 100 Karbovantsiv specimen of the second series coupons with red-overprint "ЗРАЗОК" on the face and back with solid zero prefix and serial number, the color palate is orange, violet and grey, the note below appears to be a first and second printing red ink color trial. The color trial notes are typically identified by the color variations when compared to specimens or an issued note. The color trial notes of this denomination will also have a solid zero prefix and serial number, same as a normal specimen note, and no red-overprint "ЗРАЗОК" on the face and back. There are additional color trial notes with "SPECIMEN" in block letters stamped vertically in red on the left side of the face, these are very rare. Unfortunately for me the label isn't fooling anyone as bidding has reached $510 for this note. 
    EDIT TO ADD: HAMMERED AT $700


    Finally, a 1992, 50 Karbovantsiv printer's design. I love this note! I also have no record of this note, or any other, being made available. Currently unlisted in Pick, the seller must not have paid for variety attribution , it is listed in at least one other reference but not most, and none list this color. This note is great, an unreleased denomination for this issue, an unlisted color variety with printer's annotations, and the first time it's been available for purchase. This is possibly a unique note.  Of course, the seller may list several other after this note is sold, who knows.  Bidding is currently at $500 and should climb from there.
    EDIT TO ADD: HAMMERED AT $710
     

    It's difficult to say how rare some of these color trials and printer's design notes are, especially as it seems PMG does not list these notes, P#'s, separately and possibly lumps them all together under the series and denomination specimen P#, making the Pop Report even more worthless than it already is.  The one thing I do know is that there is a LOT of unique paper out there, especially for the coupons of '91-95.
    It's the eternal question of do you dig deep and go for these or establish a limit? Well, I've hit my limit and am going to have to let these pass, no matter how much I would like to keep going, at least I'm able to document them in my records and have decent images as well. I'm currently saving and selling off some coins in hopes of acquiring a U.S. NBN of all things.  It's doubtful that I will win that note either but I'm going to give it a try, I already have my limit established, and if I don't win that note I will be left with a sizeable stash of mad money for the next note. As there always seems to be another note on the horizon. 
     
  23. Fenntucky Mike
    As the year comes to a close it saw an unprecedented amount of activity coming from the NBU BPMW, twelve new releases including six new commemorative notes, and while I'm not entirely ruling an additional release prior to the new year or postdated issue in 2022 I feel now is a good time to wrap this all up. So, I'm combining this year's new varieties, commemoratives, and my speculations into a single Journal entry, and saying adieu to 2021. 
    First let's wrap up the commemoratives.
    On December 22, the NBU released the 50 & 1,000 UAH commemorative banknotes completing the special 30th Anniversary of Ukraine's Independence commemorative series of notes, that included all six current denominations (20, 50, 100, 200, 500 & 1000). The latest releases are similar to the previous in that the banknotes have the prefix ЯА with an issue limit of 30,000 and are of the current design with the 30th Anniversary Logo added to the open area, to the left of the portrait, where the watermark is placed. Also, like the previous commemorative notes, the logo was added via screen printing and is optically variable with the colors coinciding with the color pallet of the note. As has been the case previously the NBU lists the smaller denomination first and as such I would expect the next available Pick number to be assigned to the 50 UAH first, then the 1000. The new commemoratives, as with all 2021 issued notes, sport the signature of the new Governor of the NBU, Kyrylo Shevchenko. His arm must be tired. 
    The 50 UAH, 2021, commemorative banknote.


    30th Anniversary Logo.

    The 1000 UAH, 2021, commemorative banknote.


    30th Anniversary Logo.

    All Six Commemorative notes.

    The Pick order is already established for these with the 100 & 500 commemoratives already having been assigned 129a & 130a respectively. Following that order I would expect the 20 UAH to receive P# 131a, the 200 UAH P# 132a, the 50 P# 133a and the 1000 P# 134a. I guess we'll see. The 50 & 1000 UAH commemoratives are being distributed through select banks instead of the NBU's online store, apparently it crashed due to demand for the previous commemoratives and is being rebuilt. The distributing banks are Oshchadbank, Ukrgazbank, Radabank and Taskombank, the notes are selling for 14 UAH above face value and are only available for direct purchase from the participating banks.
    Now let's wrap up the 2021 signature varieties.
    Since my last update for the new signature varieties for 2021 two more have been released into circulation, 50 and 1000 UAH notes bearing the new Governor's signature were released in early December with the 1000 UAH being released first. This completes an update of all denominations to the new signature variety and adding six new Pick #'s, matching the commemoratives. Hey, if you already had the presses fired up, why not?  Both notes are of the same previous design, dating from 2019, with the 2021 notes being the first signature variety for both. The 50 UAH should be assigned P# B126b and the 1000 UAH P# A128b.
    1000 UAH 2021 banknote with Shevchenko signature and 2021 date.

    50 UAH 2021 banknote with Shevchenko signature and 2021 date.

    This has been an eventful year for Ukrainian note collectors, twelve new varieties/releases is a boat load and the cost associated is not miniscule. Especially when one does not live in the country of origin. I'm ready for things to slow down now, but there was a press release from the NBU stating that 30th Anniversary commemorative sets, containing all six notes, will be released in 2022! Will they be the exact same notes, with the same prefix, date and design? All the commemoratives had a cap of 30,000 notes, will the NBU go over? Things should shakeout early next year. In the meantime, wrap the 2021 grands up and take a breath, albeit a short one.
    Merry Christmas! 
     
  24. 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.
  25. Fenntucky Mike
    Phonetics and countries aside, a moire /mwär/ is a pattern of irregular lines produced by the superposition at a slight angle (or offset spacing) of two sets of closely spaced lines. Moire patterns or moire grids are commonly used on banknotes as anti-scanning (counterfeiting) devices, how effective moires are in helping the layperson identify counterfeits or preventing counterfeiters from producing fake notes is topic for another day. At any rate, this all started with an effort to obtain better quality images of my banknotes I thought "hey why not try scanning them, brilliant!", as I was browsing through the first scans and thinking "these don't look as good as I had hoped." the subject of moires and security features popped into my head. Hmmm. Well, ok, lets dive a little deeper.
    ("I'm not going to get to involved here so I'm just going to stick with one note and one particular area of the note to hopefully get a better grasp of what a moire pattern is/does." I said to myself, knowing full well it was a lie.)
    But I will stick with one note and one area for this journal entry. The guinea pig for my moire investigation is the 2013 50 Hryven (Pick 121d) banknote from Ukraine, and the area I'll be looking at is in the upper left corner, on the front of the note, comprising of a light purple rectangle with the words НАЦіОАΛЬНИЙ ЬАИК УКРАЇНА (NATIONAL BANK OF UKRAINE) inscribed within the area along with the signature of the Governor of the NBU.  When first glimpsing this note from a distance (again focusing on the area mentioned above) a faint pattern can be discerned, it looks grid like but is hard to identify (for me). Upon closer inspection I begin to notice a repeating diamond pattern created by gaps between the lines in the (moire) grid. Ok, what else? 
    (Picture of the obverse of the note.)
                
    (Picture of moire grid, "diamond" pattern evident from a distance.)

    (Picture of gaping between lines of moire grid, creating a "diamond" pattern.)

    By now I've probably inspected this note a dozen times with and without my loupe. I'm thinking "well is that it?", nope. I take a step back from the note itself and start going through images I had previously taken, enlarging them, rotating, etc. While doing this I notice a repeating "square" pattern in the same moire grid. How the heck did I miss that! It was so painfully evident in the images that I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't see it. From a distance, it was not evident to me (still isn't), using my loupe it is visible but doesn't jump out at you, especially when I was fixated on the gaping and offset line patterns. I'm thinking it's just one of those things where some people will see "diamonds" and some will see "squares". It's basically a 3D puzzle to me at this point.
    (Moire grid appearing as "squares".)

    One more surprise left, after further inspection of the images I had taken another pattern became evident to me. This effect is a little harder to see and I haven't been able to notice this with the naked eye or loupe, only through photography so far, but the lines in the moire grid merge at a distance and form a square "maze like" pattern in the field. (Sorry about the pics, best I could do at the moment.)
    (Moire grid lines merge to form larger "maze like" patterns)

    Finally, what does the moire grid look like when scanned? After all this is the main purpose of the moire on a banknote, to prevent counterfeiting in the form of scanning and printing notes. Well, the moire grid disappears as it should (as I believe was intended), although the line breaks are still evident. To me it's a bit anticlimactic, at least for that particular moire on this note.
    (Scan of note in PMG holder.)

    To me, a moire (in this instance) is a cool feature but to call it an anti-counterfeiting is a bit of a stretch. If the moire, when scanned revealed a hidden message like "NOT LEGAL TENDER" or "DON"T F***ING ACCEPT THIS NOTE" I think that would be more effective and hilarious. One other thought, I've tried searching PMG for an article related to this. I've tried several different word and phrase combinations but am not finding anything related to this. So PMG if you're reading this HOOK A BROTHER UP and release an article about this in the near future, I'd be curious to see what you have to say about this. On a side note there are several articles out there about moires and moire fringes or patterns, all worth reading if you get a chance.