A series of nine coordination compounds is described, in which a common supramolecular structure, a ribbon of cyanurates, persists across variations in the metal center, coordination geometry, coordination environment, and crystal type. The syntheses and solid-state structures, as determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, are described for six of the complexes, trans-[Cu(cyan-kappa N)(2)(H2O)(2)]. 2Na(cyan). 4H(2)O (1), trans-[Cu(cyan-kappa N)(2)(NH3)(2)] (5), trans-[Cu(cyan-kappa N)(2)(NH3)(2)]trans-[Cu(cyan-kappa O-2)(2)(NH3)(4)] (6), trans-[Ni(cyan-kappa N)(2)(NH3)(4)] (7), (OC-6-33)-[Ni(cyan-kappa N)(2)(NH3)(2)(H2O)(2)] (8), and [Cu(cyan-kappa N)(PPh3)(2)]. 2CDCl(3) (9). The results are discussed together with the previously reported structures of the other three complexes, [M(cyan-kappa N)(H2O)(5)](cyan). 2H(2)O (M = Mn (2), Co (3), Ni (4)). In all cases, the ribbon of cyanurates is propagated through a recognition interaction involving a pair of hydrogen bonds between adjacent cyanurates, with a topological pattern of the type R-2(2)(8). In eight of the nine cases, the ribbon is linear, but for compound 5, which is the first product of the reaction from which compound 6 is derived, the ribbon is crenelled. An unsuccessful attempt to synthesize a product without the cyanurate ribbon in the solid state is described. The possibility that the cyanurate ribbon represents a traditional self-assembly in some of these systems but not in others is discussed. It is concluded that the formation of the cyanurate ribbon is a determinative factor in the solid-state structural coordination chemistry of the cyanurates of metals of the first transition series.