This nine-coin set celebrates the Eneida, a spiritual and cultural landmark of the Ukrainian people. Written by the renowned Ukrainian writer Ivan Kotliarevsky, the poem pioneered modern Ukrainian literature. The Eneida, which is written in the modern Ukrainian language, depicts Ukrainians as inextricably tied to their language, history, customs, traditions and everyday lives. Kotliarevsky ingeniously captured the unique inviduduality of Ukrainians by creating cheerful and jolly characters – Kotliarevsky’s Cossacks do not admit defeat neither by earthly nor spiritual powers, and nothing can break their patriotic and freedom-loving spirit. Illustrations of the Eneida by the Ukrainian artist Anatolii Basylevych, which have brought new life to the poem, form the basis of the set’s composition.

Obverse of eight coins: above are Ukraine`s small coat of arms and the legend УКРАЇНА (Ukraine); beneath are the coin`s issue year 2020, the coin`s face value 10 (inside the zero is the sign ?), the coin`s metal, its fineness and fine weight Ag 999, 31.1, and the mint mark of the NBU Banknote Printing and Minting Works; there are also the following vertical legends: І. КОТЛЯРЕВСЬКИЙ/ЕНЕЇДА (I. Kotliarevskyi/Eneida). Central coin: above, to the right is Ukraine`s small coat of arms, below which are the vertical legend УКРАЇНА (Ukraine), the coin`s face value 10 (inside the zero is the sign ?), the coin`s metal, its fineness and fine weight Ag 999, 31.1, and the mint mark of the NBU Printing and Minting Works (beneath); to the left are vertical legends written in two lines: 1926 ХУДОЖНИК/2005 АНАТОЛІЙ БАЗИЛЕВИЧ (1926 artist/2005 Anatolii Basylevych); above, to the left is the legend ЕНЕЇДА (Eneida). Obverse of all coins: there are fragments from the illustrations of the Eneida made by artist Anatolii Basylevych, which were reinterpreted and put together by the coin designers; Basylevych drew on his talent to illustrate humorous scenes from the poem, using humor to glorify its heroes, who travel, fight, compete, feast, have fun, cry and laugh…

Reverse of all coins: there are fragments from the illustrations of the Eneida, which were reinterpreted and put together; Basylevych managed to achieve an impressive unity between the literary material and illustrations, recreated the full-fledged Ukrainian epic created by Kotliarevskyi, and personified the whole spectrum of attitudes to the heroes – from lyrics to sarcasm, and from friendly jokes to irony. Reverse of the middle coin in the right row: to the left is a Cossack in red apparel (pad-printed); to the right of the Cossack is a portrait of Ivan Kotliarevskyi, below which is the following legend: 1769 1838/ І. КОТЛЯРЕВСЬКИЙ/ ЕНЕЇДА/ МАЛЮНКИ/ А. БАЗИЛЕВИЧА. (1769 1838/ I. Kotliarevskyi/Eneida/illustrations by/A. Basylevych). Reverse of the six coins comprising the left and middle rows: against the backdrop of poem illustrations are fragments that make up the figure of Cossack Enei; the central coin contains a colored image of Cossacks (pad-printed).