20 Hryven Cossack Mamay

Kozak Mamai is one of the most persistent figures in Ukrainian folk culture — a wandering Cossack philosopher depicted in countless vernacular paintings from the 17th century onward, often shown seated beneath an oak tree with a kobza. The 1997 issue was part of Ukraine's earliest commemorative silver program, launched while the country was still constructing the institutional framework of its central bank, having only introduced the hryvnia as permanent currency that same year after the transitional karbovanets was retired.

The Zahreba catalog designation CM.20.3 places this among the third distinct type in the Mamai commemorative grouping, reflecting minor specification differences tracked by Ukrainian specialists but absent from the KM series.