Reactions of the coin world on the war in Ukraine

[chrisild]

Not a coin but a newly issued Ukrainian stamp. Guess you all know the gesture, and how it was used in that case ...

[Gusev]

Oh, on the stamp we see not only a well-known gesture.
The flagship of the russian Black Sea fleet, the "moskva" cruiser, is shown in the background.
The story that served as the theme for the release of this stamp began on the first day of the war.

From Wikipedia.

"Russian warship, go (explicative deleted) yourself", originally spoken in Russian, was the last communication made during the February 2022 Russian attack on Snake Island in Ukraine's territorial waters, by border guard Roman Hrybov (also transliterated as Gribov) to the Russian missile cruiser Moskva. The phrase, and derivatives of the phrase, became widely adopted during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine in protests and demonstrations around the world.

Weeks later, the phrase was commemorated on a postage stamp by Ukrposhta, the Ukrainian postal service. On 13 April 2022, one day after the first issue of the commemorative stamp, the Moskva was hit by Ukrainian forces firing anti-ship missiles and sunk the following day.

[eurocoin]

The National Bank of Ukraine has held a design competition to find designs for a range of numismatic products. 80 works were submitted by 35 participants. Members of the public were subsequently allowed to vote on their favorite ones. 3,000 people cast their vote. The 10 designs with the most votes were shortlisted and will be used for other commemorative coins, medals, souvenir banknotes etc.

The 10 designs that were shortlisted:




The first 5 hryvna coin in the series. The reverse, which got the most votes, was designed by Alina Malyuta, the obverse of the coin was designed by Sergei Topkin.

[eurocoin]

A surprise early morning press release of the National Bank of Estonia, announcing the release of a 2 euro commemorative coin for the war in Ukraine. The coin is designed by a Ukrainian refugee who studies in Estonia. 2 million pieces will be released into circulation by the end of this year or early next year. 40,000 coins are initially planned to be released in BU coincard but this may be increased depending on demand. The design was made by Ukrainian student Daria Titova, who studies in Estonia.

[Figleaf]

See also here

More information here. A very good design! Your eye and brain fill in the details and the concept is very clear and positive. Gotta have.

Peter

[chrisild]

Cool! Both the decision to issue such a coin, and also the design.

[Gusev]

The first 5 hryvna coin in the series. The reverse, which got the most votes, was designed by Alina Malyuta, the obverse of the coin was designed by Sergei Topkin.

The inscription on the reverse of the coin is 5 hryvnia.
"The entire civilized world sided with Ukraine and supported it in the fight against the russian federation.
2402.2022, russia vilely attacked Ukraine and a full-scale war began."

[Gusev]

Silver coins with Ukrainian symbols were issued in the USA

[eurocoin]

These are coins that were coloured by coin dealers. Mutliple versions were released by separate coin dealers of the Silver Eagle with Ukrainian colours.

[Gusev]

Is this a violation of the law?  Is this business allowed?

[agoodall]

It must be legal, it's been going on for several years and the US was quick to clamp down on Liberty dollars. I'm sure they'd do the same for these altered coins if they were against the law.

Some of these pieces are technically very well done, as well as attractive. I don't think they're aimed at proper coin collectors but they are worthwhile as pieces of art for those who want to buy them. The only thing that bothers me is that some mints do issue coins with similar finishes, either colourisation or black ruthenium and rhodium plating, so it can be difficult knowing which pieces are official and which privately altered to make money. I pity cataloguers of the future trying to sort all this out!

[chrisild]

Yep, perfectly legal. See here. And I agree, keeping official and third party "colorized issues" apart can be tough; here in the euro area some mints do indeed issue pieces with color features. Others have been altered by private companies/sellers.

To make things even more complicated, the Dutch Mint (KNM) for example issues 10 cent "good luck" coins (a so-called geluksdubbeltje) on certain special occasions, mostly sports events, with the value figures in orange. The color does not refer to the Orange Revolution in Ukraine  but to the Royal House of Orange(-Nassau); orange is quite commonly used by the fans at games of the Dutch national football team for example. Anyway, here (10 ct pieces) we have a colorization that is not in line with the official specifications but done by a company that also produces the coins used for these colored pieces.

[Gusev]

Ok, I got it.
Business on the general interest in the Ukrainian issue.
The eagle looks funny. 
But I definitely like Liberty.

[chrisild]

The Vatican issued a medal with a "Peace in Ukraine" theme and design. Note that this is not a coin, and it cannot be ordered online from the numismatic office. The piece was designed by Orietta Rossi and Daniela Longo. Silver (Ag 925), weight 23 g, diameter 35 mm. Seems that the medal was not minted by the IPZS (Rome mint) but by AVS, a private manufacturer of medals.

The text above the wings of the dove – Signore Gesù, nato sotto le bombe di Kyiv, morto in braccio alla mamma in un bunker di Kharkiv, mandato ventenne al fronte, abbi pietà di noi – was taken from a prayer that Pope Francis recited in March. Rough translation: "Lord Jesus, born under the bombs of Kyiv, dead in the arms of a mother in a Kharkiv bunker, sent to the frontline in his 20s, have mercy on us." At the top on the other side, you see the word "Peace" in Latin and Ukrainian.

[chrisild]

According to this article (in German), the first 3,000 medals* have been sold. Another 2,000 were made, and are now available online. The English version of the Numismatic Office's page with the offer is here. The price per piece is €50, shipping is €8 (may depend on the destination of course).

Interesting by the way - the Numismatic Office (CFN) calls the piece a coin but also says it is not a means of payment ("eine Gedenkmünze und kein Zahlungsmittel"). Maybe they want to emphasize that it is an official Vatican issue, not a third party product. According to CFN's Mauro Olivieri, this "commemorative coin" (his words) allows being more flexible: An actual coin needs to be authorized by the EU, also in terms of issue volume. By making what they did here, they can produce as many as they want - and the CFN plans to make as many as the market demands ...