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UKRAINE
Scythians dominated the steppes north of the Black Sea from the 7th to the 4th centuries BC. Following the Scythians, a series of invaders, including Ostrogoths, Huns and the Turko-Iranian Khazars, ruled areas of present-day Ukraine.The first people to unify and control the area for a long period were Scandinavians known as the Rus. The Rus took Kiev in 882 AD, and by the late 10th century the city was the centre of a unified state known as Kievan Rus, which stretched from the Volga west to the Danube and south to the Baltic. In 988, the Kievan Rus leader Volodymyr accepted Christianity from Constantinople, beginning a long period of Byzantine influence over Ukrainian politics and culture. By 1520 the Ottoman Empire controlled all of coastal Ukraine. Military devastation and plague had wiped out much of the population of the Ukrainian steppe by the 15th century, when the region became popular with runaway serfs and Orthodox refugees escaping more tightly controlled neighbouring domains. These people came to be known as kazaks (Cossacks), a Turkic word meaning outlaw, adventurer or freebooter. Ukrainian Cossacks eventually formed a state that, although officially under Polish and later Russian rule, was to a significant degree self-ruling, but 20 years later the state was divided between Poland and Russia. Ukrainian nationalism flourished in the 1840s, prompting Russian authorities to ban the Ukrainian language in schools, journals and books. Following WWI and the collapse of tsarist authority, Ukraine finally had a chance to gain its independence. Civil war broke out and the country quickly descended into anarchy, with six armies vying for power and Kiev changing hands five times in one year. After prolonged fighting involving Russia, Poland and various Ukrainian political and ethnic factions, Poland retained portions of western Ukraine and the Soviets got the rest. Ukraine officially became part of the USSR in 1922. While the leadership in Moscow sorted itself out, another Ukrainian national revival took off in the 1920s. When Stalin took power in 1927, however, he made a test case out of Ukraine for his ideas about 'harmful' nationalism. In 1932-33 he engineered a famine that killed as many as 7 million Ukrainians. Execution and deportation of intellectuals further depopulated the country. Stalin also went after the country's premier religious symbols, its churches and cathedrals, destroying over 250 buildings. During the purges of 1937-39, millions more Ukrainians were either executed or sent to Soviet labour camps. WWII brought further devastation and death, with 6 million perishing in the fighting between the Red Army and the German forces. It's estimated that during the first half of the 20th century, war, famine and purges cost the lives of over half the male and a quarter of the female population of Ukraine. The Ukrainian People's Movement for Restructuring, an umbrella nationalist movement founded in Kiev by prominent intellectuals and writers, won local seats across the country in 1990. In July of that year, the parliament issued a sovereignty - but not secession - declaration to little effect. Shortly after the failed Soviet coup in August 1991, the Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU) was banned, and in December the population voted overwhelmingly for independence.
10 Hryvens - 2001
KM-143 - 3,88 g - 16 mm
Edge- Smooth
This NCLT "coin" was issued to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the rebirth of Ukrainian independence. The obverse has the nation's encircled arms with the country's name UKRAINA above and the denomination and date 10 HRYVEN 2001 below. The fineness and weight Au .900 3,88 is to the right of the arms within the circle. The reverse has a map of the country with a public building and flag. Around the rim is an Ukrainian inscription for 10th ANNIVERSARY OF UKRAINIAN INDEPENDENCE and the dates 1991-2001 below.
URUGUAY
Uruguay's aboriginal inhabitants were the Charrúa Indians. They killed the explorer Juan Diaz de Solís and most of his party when the Spaniards encountered them in 1516. By the 17th century, the Charrúas had prospered and, abandoning hostilities, began trading with the Spanish. In 1680, the Portuguese founded Colonia on the estuary of the Río de la Plata as a rival to Spanish-held Buenos Aires on the opposite shore. Spain responded by building its own citadel at Montevideo. Uruguayan hero José Artigas fought against the Spanish but was unable to prevent a Brazilian takeover of the Banda (the original name of the eastern shore of the Río de la Plata). Exiled to Paraguay, he inspired the '33 Orientales' who, with Argentine support, liberated the area in 1828 and established Uruguay as an independent buffer state between Argentina and Brazil. Uruguay's fragile independence was repeatedly threatened during the 19th century - militarily by Argentina and Brazil, and economically by Britain. Federalist forces in collusion with Argentina besieged Montevideo from 1838-51 and helped create two warring political parties, the Blancos and the Colorados. For the remainder of the century, the contest between the Blancos and Colorados continued, immersing the country in civil war, dictatorship and political intrigue. In the early 20th century, the visionary President José Batlle y Ordóñez achieved far-reaching reforms and made Uruguay the only 'welfare state' in Latin America. During his two terms as president - 1903-07 and 1911-15 - he implemented a range of free social services, abolished capital punishment and sought to curb the country's legacy of strong-arm rule. The country's former prosperity had ebbed away by the 1960s as state-supported enterprises became riddled with corruption. The country slid into dictatorship and was thrown into turmoil by the Tupamaros, an urban guerrilla movement which appeared publicly in 1967. In 1971, the military was invited to participate in government, Congress was dissolved, and the Tupamaros were effectively wiped out. The military continued to hold sway in national politics until 1984 when Julio María Sanguinetti won the presidential election. His government implied a return to democratic traditions and fostered a process of national reconciliation beginning with a widespread political amnesty. In 1990, free-market reformer Luis Alberto Lacalle took office. In 1994, Sanguinetti regained control.
5 Pesos - 1930
KM-027 - 8,49 g
Mintage
- 0.014M
This coin was minted at the Paris mint to commemorate the centennial of the Republic. The obverse features a bareheaded bust of Jose Gervasio Artigas (b1764-d1850), the leader of Uruguay's independence. The inscription around the perimeter is the Spanish name for the country The Eastern Republic of Uruguay." At the bottom is the name ARTIGAS. The designer's name (L. Balzor) is to the left of the bust. The reverse has a prominent denomination over a rising sun with the date below, all within a wreathe. At the top is the Spanish inscription CENTENARY OF 1830.
USA
$5 - 1799
KM-019 - 8,75 g - 25mm
Mintage
- 7.451
This is an early U.S.A. $5 coin that was minted at the Philadelphia mint. The obverse features a turbaned bust of Liberty. The are 8 stars to the left of the bust and LIBERTY and 5 stars at the right. The date 1799 is below the bust. The reverse has a heraldic eagle surrounded by the nation's name UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
USA TERRITORIAL/PRIVATE GOLD
UNITED STATES ASSAY OFFICE - SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
50 Dollars - 1852
KM-032.2
- 84,82 g
This coin containing almost 2½ Troy ounces of gold was minted by Augustus Humbert at the United States Assay Office in San Francisco California and these are called "Territorial" pieces because they were issued by private minting concerns during the California Gold Rush. In 1854 the San Francisco Mint opened and these "territorial" coins were no longer permitted by the American authorities. The $50 coins were the largest denomination issued and, as this example shows, these coins (or "slugs" as these $50 coins were called) circulated extensively. The obverse features a stylised eagle and shield. Above the eagle is a ribbon with the fineness of 887 THOUS. The country's name is within a circle with the denomination FIFTY DOLLS at the bottom. Outside the circle, it reads AUGUSTUS HUMBERT UNITED STATES ASSAYER OF GOLD CALIFORNIA 1852. The reverse has a machined reverse that is called a "target reverse."
USSR
WWI started like a usual war for Russia. After blessing, soldiers went to fight thinking that they will be home in at most few months - the victory seemed easy. After 3 years of war and numerous Tsar's strategic and leadership mistakes, Russia lost 1,000,000 people. Bad crops, leading to starvation and diseases, only added to social unrest. In 1917, Russia was very vulnerable from the political point: it had a hidden potential that could explode at any time. In February, 1917, first explosion occurred. Tired of war and starvation, people in Russia blamed the government (the Tsar) everything. In the February Revolution, Czar Nicolai II was forced to abdicate, and Russia became a Republic. It's parliamentary organ, Duma, was very indecisive and slow. People did not see much change, and the second, much bigger explosion followed - the October Revolution. It is important to note that there were many catalysts of people's attitude towards the government. In 1917, the most important group agitating people was the RSDRP (Russian Socialist Democratic Party of Workers). Later renamed into RKP (Russian Communist Party), it was subsidized by Germany, who hoped to take Russia out of the war and thus, concentrate all German forces on the Western front. RKP's mottos, denouncing war and demanding food, appealed to people. Late night of October 25 (or November 7 by the new calendar), rebel tsarist warship "Aurora", parked at a dock in St. Petersburg, fired from one of its cannons, announcing the beginning of what lasted over 70 years - the Soviet Era. The first decrees issued by the Communists were Decree on Land and Decree on Peace. The first denounced private ownership of land and proclaimed its transfer to the state, or all the people. The second declared that Russia is no longer a participant of the WWI. In addition, Russia would give up its historic possessions in Ukraine, Belorus, and Baltic states. With Germany's loss of WWI, balance of power in Eastern Europe shifted once more. The Russian Civil War 1918-1922 against joint forces of domestic resistance to RKP and foreign intervention of leading western powers (Britain, France, Germany, United States and others) became a victorious march for the newly formed Red Army. Most of Russian pre-war possessions were regained, and the great reconstruction began. The years 1924-1939 were very difficult for most Russians. The country was in ruins from the two wars. The new economic (communist) system was forced on people. Religion was abolished. These drastic changes could have been done only under a dictator - and indeed they were. Joseph Stalin's murders reached their peak in 1937, when millions of people were shot or died in labor camps sometimes just for questioning the Party's authority or stealing as little as a potato of THE STATE PROPERTY during starvation. The only thing that saved Russia was people's amazing enthusiasm (this worked once more after the WWII). Many were working days and nights, sacrificing themselves for the "better future"of next generations.The new state was named the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, for it consisted of several "union republics", that had their own government, flag and language. Republics in the USSR were the analog of States in the USA, only Republics were based on nationalities and had a right to terminate their membership in the Union at any time. (Of course, nobody even dreamed that would ever happen, but that's exactly what caused the chain reaction in 1990-91.) With change in the name of the country, RKP also received a new name - the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). This was the only party of the Soviet Union, and thus was simply referred to as "the Party". Produced at one of the Congresses of the Party, the 1937 Conwtsitution stated that "construction of socialism in the USSR has been successfully completed". The turmoil in Eastern European satellite countries and cries for freedom finally caused the crash of the USSR. In 1991, Yeltsin finalized the collapse of communism in Russia and started the country on its way to modernisation.
1 Chervonetz
KM-085 - 8,60 g
Mintage
- 1,000M
This is a bullion piece denominated at 10 Rubles minted by the USSR in the style of the only gold coin minted under the communist regime in 1923. The obverse has the arms of the old Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR) encircled by the Old Russian inscription reading PROLETARIAT OF THE WORLD, RISE UP AND THROW OFF YOUR CHAINS (it does not say but it should continue to read AND BECOME A SLAVE TO OR VICTIM OF THE MURDERERS). At the bottom are the Cyrillic initials RSFSR in a panel. The reverse has a standing image of a farmer sowing seed with a plough to the left and a factory to the right. At the top is the Russian inscription ONE CHERVONETZ and the date 1976 is at the 8 o'clock position.
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