Poland continues its remembrance of its anti-communist heroes with Witold Pilecki
With the current tensions in the region, it’s of little surprise that the National Bank of Poland is looking to its anti-communist heroes for numismatic inspiration. Just this year we’ve seen coins commemorating the 1920 Battle of Zadworze, Fighting Solidarity, the WWII Warsaw massacres and the 1982 Battle of Lubin. Prior to all of this was the initial release of a new series called “The Enduring Soldiers Accursed by the Communists”. Looking to be a 22-coin series split over the next 4-5 years, this is obviously a subject close to the Polish heart and anybody that reads the stories of these people will understand why.
The first half-ounce sterling silver coin featured Danuta Siedzikówna and this one commemorates a soldier of exceptional courage – Witold Pilecki. You can read more about this brave man further down, but suffice to say there are plenty of reasons his story needs to be widely told. Each coin has a small band of colour on the reverse face, but is otherwise cleanly struck to a proof finish.
The reverse face depicts images of Witold Pilecki “Witold”, a military eagle, a white and-red-flag with the symbol of Fighting Poland and the inscription “They acted as they should”. This mirrors the basic design style of the previous coin and we can assume the series as a whole. Again designed by Dobrochna Surajewska and struck by the Mint of Poland, the common obverse by Urszula Walerzak is present again, featuring prison bars torn apart and the Polish eagle emblem.
The first two coins are available now and this one will be on sale from 28 September with site sponsors Pela-Coins and Mennica Gdanska likely to get them in, the latter having them up for sale right now at around the 160 Zloty mark (€38 / $40 / £32).
SPECIFICATION
NAME | 2017 ENDURING SOLDIERS |
DENOMINATION | 10 Zloty |
COMPOSITION | 0.925 silver |
WEIGHT | 14.14 grams |
DIAMETER | 32.0 mm |
FINISH | Proof |
MODIFICATIONS | Colour |
MINTAGE | 15,000 |
BOX / COA | Yes / Yes |
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