1 oz National Bank of Ukraine Archangel Michael Silver Coin

The 1 oz Ukrainian Archangel Michael Silver Coin

The Archangel Michael is the official bullion coin of Ukraine, issued by the National Bank of Ukraine since 2011 and struck in .9999 fine silver, the four-nines standard that matches the Canadian Maple Leaf and exceeds the .999 of the American Silver Eagle and Austrian Philharmonic. Its claim to a place among serious bullion coins was settled in 2013, when the Royal Canadian Mint included it in the "Fabulous 15", a curated set of the world's 15 premier silver bullion coins alongside the Maple Leaf, Britannia, Eagle, Kookaburra, Philharmonic, Libertad, and Panda.

What makes the coin genuinely unusual is scarcity. Mintages are among the lowest of any government-issued bullion series, typically 10,000 to 40,000 for the silver coin, against the millions struck for mainstream rivals; the 2021 issue ran to just 5,000 pieces. That scarcity supports premiums well above standard bullion, which means the coin is a poor choice for pure weight accumulation but a strong one for buyers who want low-mintage sovereign silver with collector upside.

The subject is deeply national: Archangel Michael is the patron saint of Kyiv and has appeared on the city's coat of arms since at least the 13th century. Production has continued through the war with Russia, with 2022 and 2023 issues struck despite the conflict, giving the wartime-dated coins particular historical interest. Stackers wanting cost-efficient .9999 silver should compare the 1 oz Silver Maple Leaf before paying the Archangel's scarcity premium.

Archangel Michael Silver Coin Specifications

The obverse carries the coat of arms of Ukraine and the inscription of the National Bank of Ukraine, with a shield bearing the bank's emblem inside an octagonal cartouche, flanked by the weight and "AG 999.9" fineness marks. The reverse shows Archangel Michael as the Commander of the Heavenly Host: a warrior in full armour, wings spread, flaming sword in his right hand. The circular inscription quotes Taras Shevchenko's poem Haydamaky: "For us and souls of righteous men, and Archistrategos Michael's strength."

Coins ship in individual capsules. The standard bullion issue carries no documented anti-counterfeiting technology such as micro-engraving or edge lettering; authentication rests on the precise specifications and the intricate design. Special versions exist, including the F15 privy mark issues produced for the Fabulous 15 collection and, since 2022, gilt variants with selective gold colouring on the Archangel figure.

Archangel Michael Silver Tax Treatment by Country

The coin is legal tender of Ukraine with a nominal 1 UAH face value, worth roughly two and a half US cents, so its tax treatment everywhere follows its silver content rather than its denomination.

• UK: 20% VAT applies to new silver. The coin is not CGT-exempt, since only UK legal tender coins such as the Silver Britannia qualify. Availability is through specialist dealers rather than mainstream UK bullion houses.
• US: No federal sales tax, and roughly 35 states exempt bullion from state sales tax. Long-term capital gains are taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28%. At .9999 fine, the coin meets the 99.9% IRA purity requirement for silver. Widely available through major US dealers.
• Canada: GST/HST exempt, as silver refined beyond the 99.9% federal purity threshold in coin form.
• Australia and New Zealand: GST-free in both countries, where the silver threshold is 99.9% purity.
• EU: Full local VAT rates apply to new silver coins, typically 17-27% by country. In Germany, the margin scheme can reduce the effective rate on imported coins to the dealer's margin only.
• Singapore and Hong Kong: No purchase tax on qualifying silver and no capital gains tax in either jurisdiction.

Archangel Michael vs Maple Leaf, Philharmonic, and Eagle

On purity, the Archangel concedes nothing: its .9999 silver matches the Maple Leaf and beats the .999 of the Silver Philharmonic and American Silver Eagle. Where it differs from all three is volume. The Maple Leaf, Philharmonic, and Eagle are struck in the millions, trade at the tightest spreads in silver, and sit at the low end of sovereign coin premiums; the Archangel's five-figure mintages put it in a different category, with higher premiums supported by genuine scarcity rather than production cost.

That changes who the coin is for. A stacker accumulating ounces gets more metal per dollar from a Silver Maple Leaf, which adds Bullion DNA anti-counterfeiting and effortless dealer liquidity. The Archangel buyer is paying for rarity: even a high-mintage Archangel year at 40,000 coins is tiny next to mainstream output, and limited issues from most mints still run 50,000 to 300,000. The series has a loyal collector following built on exactly that combination of sovereign backing, four-nines purity, and low mintage.

Against the American Silver Eagle, the comparison is brand power versus scarcity. The Eagle commands the highest premiums among standard 1 oz government coins on the strength of US collector demand and recovers its premium well at resale in the American market. The Archangel is the harder coin to sell quickly, but its supply constraint is structural, and the wartime-dated issues add a historical dimension no mainstream bullion coin can match. As a middle path, Perth Mint's annually-changing designs offer mild collectibility at mintages far above the Archangel's.