Sale of hryvnia and stamps experiencing roadblocks (01/24/93)

Sale of hryvnia and stamps experiencing roadblocks

by Christopher Guly

OTTAWA - Major roadblocks in both Ukraine and Canada are hindering distribution of Ukrainian philatelic and numismatic issues.

The Canadian Bank Note Co. Ltd., based in Ottawa, has produced seven denominations of Ukraine's official currency, the "hryvnia," and six out of nine recent issues of its postage stamps.

Boris Biliashivsky, a spokesperson for Ukrainian Ambassador Levko Lukianenko, said that the British Royal Mint produced two denominations of currency: the 200-hryvnia and the 500-hryvnia notes. However, officials of the Royal Mint in Cardiff, Wales, could not confirm their production.

John T. Woods, special projects coordinator for the Canadian company's Ukrainian philatelic division, says a special hryvnia collectors' series and all nine first-day covers of independent Ukraine's first stamps are being marketed throughout Canada and the United States. Ethnic Ukrainian communities in both countries are being encouraged to purchase these commemoratives to help defray costs associated with their production, he added.

Stamps sold in Ukraine are priced between two and 15 karbovantsi. A Ukrainian karbovanets is valued at about 60 percent of a Russian ruble and somewhere between 600 and 700 for $1 (U.S.).

However, Mr. Woods explained, sales "are not going very well." For one thing, the organized Ukrainian Canadian community is not involved.

Mr. Woods said the quantity of stamps available increases their market value. Between 2.5 million and 5 million stamps per series were produced. The Canadian-made "Olympic Pole-Vaulter" and the "Independence" stamp were printed in editions of 5 million each. Commemoratives are normally produced at a minimum of 10 million per order.

Prices for the stamps, in Canadian dollars, run as low as $1 for an individual stamp to $1.50 for a first-day cover. Full sheets bearing 200 stamps cost between $75 and $120.

While Ukraine Post determined the issue size, the price of the stamps and the issue dates, the Canadian Bank Note Co. has exclusive rights to market them worldwide, with the exception of Ukraine.

Among the series of nine available, Russia produced three: one commemorating the 175th anniversary of the birth of Mykola Kostomarov, considered the father of modern Ukrainian historiography; another on the 500th anniversary of the Kozak state; and, one marking the centennial of Ukrainian immigration to Canada.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Bank Note Co. produced six: three marking last year's Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona; one dedicated to the World Forum of Ukrainians; another celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ukrainian composer and musical scholar Mykola Lysenko; and two marking the 1991 declaration of Ukrainian independence.

The independence stamps bear the blue-and-yellow flag adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament last January 28, as well as the 3,000-year-old trident symbol, which again became Ukraine's national emblem on February 19, 1992.

All nine stamps were designed by 40-year-old Larissa Koren, considered to be one of Ukraine's foremost graphic artists.

Meanwhile, the hryvnia remains bottlenecked in Ukraine. While the National Bank of Ukraine awaits further strengthening of its fiscal and monetary policy via actions by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the country is now using a transitional form of currency, the "karbovanets." That currency was originally used in the 1917-1920 period, when Ukraine was independent.

The hryvnia was a silver coin of various types used in the ancient Kyyivan Rus state. In 1918 it became the primary currency unit in Ukraine.

Mr. Bilashivsky hopes that Canada will be able to produce more money and more stamps for Ukraine. Mr. Woods, however, is not as optimistic. "Unless we get more support from the diaspora, the costs involved will make it prohibitive for Ukraine to afford it."

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