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Tuesday 14 July 2020

1422) 1075 years since Princess Olga (890-969 AD), Ukraine: A Silver Proof Coin brought out by the National Bank of Ukraine, minted by the Ukrainian Mint: Year of issue: 2020:

1422) 1075 years since Princess Olga (890-969 AD), Ukraine: A Silver Proof Coin brought out by the National Bank of Ukraine, minted by the Ukrainian Mint: Year of issue: 2020:

Princess Olga was a regent of Kievan Rus for her son Svyatoslav from 945 to 960 AD.

She was baptised as Elena and is known for her obliteration of the Drevlians - a tribe that had killed her husband Igor of Kiev. The Drevlians had joined Kievan Rus in military campaigns against the Byzantine Empire and paid tribute to Igor's predecessors, but had decided not to pay him anything now.

Igor at the head of a large army confronted the Drevlians at their capital Iskorosten to force them to pay the tribute, which they did, out of fear at being decimated. As Igor and his army rode home, however, he decided that the tribute payment was not enough and returned with only a small envoy, seeking more tribute. When he arrived in the Drevlian capital, he was murdered, after being subjected to inhuman tortures.

After Igor's death, Olga ruled Kievan Rus as regent on behalf of their son, Svyatoslav. Thinking her to be weak, the murderer of Igor proposed marriage to her, but after several small incidents in which his envoys were killed, she arranged to meet the Drevlians and  with great cunning, they were massacred and at least 5000 Drevlians perished in the fight. A year-long siege was laid on the city of Iskorosten, whereafter , the city was burned down and the inhabitants were killed, captured as slaves, or left alive to pay tribute.

Having succeeded her husband, Prince Igor, the Princess suppressed an uprising, strengthened trade and political ties within the country and took care of the growth of the international authority of Kievan Rus. She established trading posts and collected tributes along the Msta and the Luga rivers.

 She established hunting grounds, boundary posts, towns etc across the empire. Her work helped to centralise state rule with these trading posts called "pogosti" and brought about the ethnic and cultural unification of the Russian nation and her border posts began the establishment of national boundaries for the kingdom.

In the 950s, Olga travelled to Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire and converted to Christianity with the assistance of the Emperor and the Patriarch.  In addition, Olga maintained an Alliance with the Byzantines.

The Commemorative Coin:



The Reverse and Obverse of the 20 Hryvinia Coin with selective gold plating placed side-by-side

A silver coin has been issued in honour of Princess Olga. This edition is dedicated to the period of Olga's reign from 945 to 964 AD.

The Obverse of the 20 Hryvnia Gold Coin depicts at the upper periphery a small State Emblem of Ukraine below which is the inscription "UKRAINE" in Ukrainian).

At the centre left periphery is mentioned the year of issue "2020". At the lower/bottom periphery is mentioned the denomination of the coin - "20 HRYVNIA (in Ukrainian). 

At right centre against the background of a decorative ornament from the time of Kievan Rus, is a stylised gilded image of a fragment of a chronicle miniature (local gilding, the gold content is not less than 0.001 grams).

The Reverse of the 20 Hryvnia Gold Coin depicts Princess Olga in a circle from a decorative ornament of the time of Kievan Rus.

The inscriptions in Ukrainian are - (Princess OlgaA 1075 rokiv z Chas pravlinnya) meaning - "PRINCESS OLGA" (acima), "1075" (Esquerdo), under it the years of time (in a semi-circle) and the Board (semi-circle on the right).

The specifications of this Silver Coin are:

Denomination: 20 Hryvnia; Country of issue: Ukraine; Metal Composition: 0.925 Fineness Silver (Ag); Weight: 62.2 grams or 2.0 Oz; Diameter/Size: 50.0 grams; Mintage: 2,500 pieces; Coin Quality: Proof with partial gilding; Year: 2020.



The Obverse of the Coin placed in an elegant Presentation Case.



The Reverse of the Coin presented in the elegant Presentation Case.

An image of Princess Olga holding a cross after her embracing Christianity.













Links to other posts on Ukrainian Coins/Banknotes on this Blog:




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