Ukraine’s “In Unity, Strength” Named Most Inspirational Coin
The National Bank of Ukraine took home top honors in the Most Inspirational Coin Category for the Coin of the Year (COTY) Awards recognizing 2022-dated coins. The winning coin, “In Unity, Strength,” celebrates the national unity of Ukrainians in their fight against Russian aggression.
The “In Unity, Strength” coins are the first in a new series called My Immortal Ukraine. They are also the first coins to be issued into circulation by the NBU in wartime.
The coins were first presented by Deputy National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Governor Oleksii Shaban in a meeting with the Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova and representatives of the embassies of the following 12 countries: France, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK, Canada, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, the United States, the Czech Republic and Poland. All of the countries are honored on the coin’s reverse for providing humanitarian, economic, security and military aid.
“We are very grateful to our international partners for their support, and we’d like to perpetuate their efforts and our gratitude in the commemorative coins that we’re happy to present today,” Shaban said. “These coins symbolically celebrate the strength of the unity of countries around world, which, despite the scale of the threat, is able to protect human lives, freedom and justice.”
The obverse features a design called “Unity is Strength” by Alina Maliuta. This design was selected via an open vote to choose the best design conducted by the NBU. The reverse is based on the design “Assistance from Partner Countries” by Serhii Topkin, who also took part in the competition.
The obverse depicts the following: against a smooth background, in the center, is Ukraine’s small coat of arms (the trident), around which is a stylized composition symbolizing the unity of people of goodwill around the world – a circle of hands that are joined in pairs and surrounded by a blue and yellow ribbon (color-printed/pad-printed).
The reverse of the coin features the semicircular legend В ЄДНОСТІ – СИЛА/IN UNITY STRENGTH written in Ukrainian and English. Under the legend is a stylized composition of colored flags (color-printed/pad-printed) of the 15 countries that are providing Ukraine with comprehensive aid in fighting Russian aggression: the United States, the UK, Poland, Canada, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Italy, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Japan.
The coin weighs of 31.1 grams, has a diameter of 38.6 mm, and a mintage of up to 5,000 coins.