With gold and silver in high demand over the past eight years, numerous mints around the globe have either expanded gold and silver offerings, or introduced brand-new bullion series to grab their own slice of the pie. Continental Europe is a hotbed of bullion and proof coin design, with the Royal Mint in England producing countless options for investors, as well as the Paris Mint, Austrian Mint, and various German minting facilities.
One of the youngest coin offerings on the continent is the Ukrainian Archangel Michael series. The Ukrainian Archangel Michael series of silver and gold coins debuted in 2011, and has quickly expanded in size and increased in diversity as more numismatists discover this relative newcomer in the marketplace. This week, JM Bullion takes a moment to introduce you to this new coin you’ll find in both metals in our online catalog.
Ukrainian Silver Archangel Michael Coins
Like many other silver bullion coin programs available to modern investors, there is only one weight struck in these Ukrainian Silver Coins. The Archangel Michael coin program features silver and gold bullion options. All coins in the program are available to date only as BU products. Coins in BU condition show no signs of wear and tear, though you may notice minor flaws including breaks in the luster, spotted surfaces, or contact marks from the production process at the mint.
Common features of both the gold and Ukrainian Silver Archangel Michael coins include the use of the same obverse and reverse design features annually for the coins. For the Ukrainian Silver Coins in particular, the 1 oz silver coin features .9999 pure silver and bears a face value of 1 (UAH). Although it had a low mintage of 10,000 coins in 2011, the Ukrainian Silver Archangel Michael has surpassed 20,000 coins in each of the last three mintage years and often outsells all of its gold counterparts combined.
Ukrainian Gold Archangel Michael Coins
The Ukrainian Archangel Coins available from JM Bullion have been in production at the National Bank of Ukraine only since 2011. The coin series was launched that year with very limited issues of a 1 oz Ukrainian Silver Archangel Michael Coin, as well as a 1 oz Ukrainian Gold Archangel Michael Coin and ¼ oz Ukrainian Gold Archangel Michael Coin.
Mintage of these Ukrainian Gold Coins has never surpassed 10,000 coins in any one year for any given weight individually. Collectively, the gold coins have surpassed 20,000 coins in total in recent years, but individual coins are often priced at a point such that most investors cannot afford the coins and the mintage figures remain quite low as a result of low demand.
Ukrainian Gold Archangel Michael coin production expanded immediately in 2012 with the addition of a ½ oz coin and 1/10 oz coin to the gold program. During each subsequent year of production, the 1/10 oz Ukrainian Gold Archangel Michael Coin has been the top seller individually among the gold coins, surpassed only once by the 1 oz coin in 2014. In recent years, the ¼ oz gold coin has gained traction as well as a popular option among investors.
Features of the Ukrainian Gold Archangel Michael Coins include:
- Each coin contains .9999 pure gold content.
- Individual face values in hryvnia are set at 2 (UAH) for the 1/10 oz coin, 5 (UAH) for the ¼ oz coin, 10 (UAH) for the ½ oz coin, and 20 (UAH) for the 1 oz coin.
- Available only in Brilliant Uncirculated condition.
Who is the Archangel Michael?
The inspiration for the design of the Ukrainian Silver Coins available today from JM Bullion is the Archangel Michael. As it pertains to Ukraine, the Western world knows the archangel predominantly as Michael, but other cultures around the world know him by many different names; from Saint Michael to Taxiarch Archangel Michael. To the Ukrainian people, the archangel Michael is a protector of the capital city of Kiev and the estate of Ukraine.
The Archangel Michael is known to the people of all the major religions of the world. Christians, Jews, and Islamists alike know him as a healer of the sick and the leader of God’s army. The story of Michael the archangel is one of the most powerful in the Christian bible. Known as one of God’s greatest warriors, Michael did nothing less than save heaven itself as the defender of God’s people and the kingdom of heaven by defeating an enemy simultaneously referred to as a dragon, Satan, or the devil.
Design of the Ukrainian Archangel Michael Coins
The Ukrainian Archangel Michael coins feature the same obverse and reverse designs each year. The image of Michael used on the coin’s obverse face was designed by Volodymyr Taran, Oleksandr Kharuk, and Serhii Kharuk, with engraving of the design features onto the coin completed by Roman Chaikovskyi and Sviatoslav Ivanenko.
Michael is depicted in various reliefs throughout human culture. However, there is one portrayal of the Archangel Michael that seems to be pervasive throughout humanity. The most popularly used depiction shows Michael in a full suit of Roman armor and wielding a flaming sword in his right hand. His figure is often surrounded by a pair of bird-like wings that emanate from his back and the rays of the sun expanding from the background behind his relief. For the Ukrainian Gold Archangel Michael Coin, the image of Michael employs another common design feature of his image, that of Michael standing above a dragon with his sword at hand ready to slay the beast.
On the reverse of all Ukrainian Archangel Michael coins you’ll find the coat of arms of Ukraine in the center of the design field. It is surrounded by engravings that are all in the native Cyrillic language, with “National Bank of Ukraine” located above the design set and outside of the octagonal cartouche that frames the coat of arms.
On the shield of the coat of arms there is the emblem of the National Bank of Ukraine, a pair of griffins with the hryvnia symbol (Ukrainian monetary weight) between the beasts. The symbolism is meant to represent the beasts as guardians of the nation’s gold reserves. You’ll also find the face value, year of issue, metal content, weight, and purity on this face in Cyrillic as well.
About the Mint
All Ukrainian Archangel Michael Coins from this collection are produced by the National Bank of Ukraine, which has the dual role of producing the nation’s currency and implementing its monetary policy, as well as striking bullion coins for investment purposes. Located in the national capital city of Kiev, the National Bank of Ukraine was formed in 1992 following the fall and separate of the states within the Soviet Union. Originally serving as a central bank for the region during Soviet occupation, the bank today serves the independent Ukrainian government in the production of paper currency and coinage for circulation, as well as commemorative precious metals.
Search Our Catalog!
The JM Bullion online catalog has all of the coins mentioned above, in various weights, available for you to purchase today. Bolster your investment portfolio or add this intriguing design to your personal collection.
