5 hryvnias 2016 Ukraine – Struve Geodesic Arc

Description

The Struve Geodesic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations that was used to measure the exact shape and size of the earth. This unique UNESCO world heritage site, which was established by the prominent astronomer Friedrich Struve, and which runs through ten countries, is the first scientific and technical UNESCO site.

Obverse: above, there is the small state coat of arms of Ukraine, to the left of which is the semicircular legend УКРАЇНА (Ukraine), with the coin issue year 2016 beneath it; at the bottom of the coin are the coin face value 5/ГРИВЕНЬ (5/hryvnias) and the logotype of the NBU Banknote Printing and Minting Works; against a smooth background is a geodesic instrument, a theodolite, to the right of which is a diagrammatic drawing of triangulations, and the following coordinates: 70?40?12? (above) and 45?19?54? (below), as well as the countries through which the arc stretches: NORWAY, SWEDEN, FINLAND, RUSSIA, ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, BELARUS, UKRAINE, AND MOLDOVA.

Reverse: against a smooth background is a portrait of Struve, to the right of which is the semicircular legend ГЕОДЕЗИЧНА ДУГА СТРУВЕ/1816 – 1855 (Struve geodesic arc/1816-1855), the years when the survey was carried out; to the left of the portrait, against the background of a geographic map, is a conventionalized composition of the Struve arc and the legends ФУГЛЕНЕС 2822 км (Fuglenes 2,822 km) (above) and СТАРА НЕКРАСІВКА (Stara Nekrasivka)(below).