Commemorative 2-Hryvnia Coin “Symon Petliura”

Ukraine, National Bank of Ukraine. 

The commemorative 2-hryvnia coin “Symon Petliura” was issued by the National Bank of Ukraine on 29 May 2009 as part of the ‘Outstanding Personalities of Ukraine’ series. The coin commemorates the 130^th anniversary of the birth of Symon Vasylovych Petliura (1879–1926), a Ukrainian statesman, military and public figure, Head of the Directory of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and Chief Ataman of the UPR Army.

Obverse: At the top is the small State Emblem of Ukraine, with the semicircular inscription “НАЦІОНАЛЬНИЙ БАНК УКРАЇНИ” (“NATIONAL BANK OF UKRAINE”) around it. The centre features the head of a Ukrainian woman wearing a traditional wreath, facing right. The image is framed by a wreath, with figures of two military personnel of the Ukrainian People’s Republic on either side. The denomination “2 ГРИВНІ” (“2 HRYVNI”), the year of minting “2009”, and the mark of the National Bank of Ukraine Mint are shown at the bottom.

Reverse: The reverse features a bust of Symon Petliura. The years of his life, “1879–1926”, are placed to the left and right of the portrait, while the semicircular inscription “СИМОН ПЕТЛЮРА” (“SYMON PETLIURA”) appears below.

The artistic design highlights Petliura’s historical role as one of the prominent figures associated with the struggle for Ukrainian statehood in the early 20th century.

The edge is reeded.

The coin is a notable example of modern Ukrainian numismatics and belongs to a thematic series devoted to prominent figures of Ukrainian history. The combination of a symbolic composition on the obverse and a distinctive portrait on the reverse gives the issue commemorative and historical-cultural significance.

Provenance: The object was donated to the museum by M. Yu. Yaroshenko in 2010.