Zlatnyks were the first minted coins of Ancient Rus, which were minted at the end of the 10th – beginning of the 11th century during the reign of Volodymyr Sviatoslavych (972–1015) after the adoption of Christianity and became a kind of declaration of the sovereignty of the East Slavic state. Ancient Rus coins are one of the oldest artifacts of Ancient Rus fine art, writing and language.
Compositionally zlatnyks are close to the Byzantine solids of emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII (976–1025). They were made of high-quality gold and metrologically matched with Byzantine solids. This gives reason to assume that the latter were used as raw materials for the production of zlatnyks.
On the obverse of the coin is a full-length image of the Grand Prince Volodymyr, sitting on a throne. In his right hand, the prince holds a cross, his left hand is above the cloak. Above the left shoulder is a trident. Around in a dotted frame is the inscription: ВЛАДИМИР НА СТОЛЕ (VLADYMYR IS ON THE THRONE).
On the reverse of the coin, in the center of the field, there is a straight waist-length image of Jesus Christ with the Gospel in his hands, on his head – a cruciform crown. Around is the inscription: А СЕ ЕГО ЗЛАТО (THIS IS HIS GOLD).
Among the currently known ten examples of zlatnyks, one of them is kept in the National Museum of the History of Ukraine.
In 1878, the coin was bought by the collector S. V. Bodylevsky in Kyiv for his own collection. Already in 1904, the collection was donated in honor of the opening of the Kyiv Art, Industrial and Scientific Museum, from which the history of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine actually begins.
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