5 Hryven Baptizing of Rus

Issued to mark the 2000th anniversary of Christianity — a date Ukraine treated as a major state occasion — this coin appeared during a period when the Kuchma government was actively cultivating the Orthodox church as a pillar of national identity. The Baptism of Rus in 988 AD under Vladimir the Great remains politically loaded in the region: both Ukraine and Russia claim it as the founding moment of their respective Christian traditions, a dispute that was already sharpening by 2000.

The alloy, a nickel-brass variant sometimes catalogued as German silver depending on the source, produces inconsistent surface color across strikes from this year.