The National Bank of Poland offers a set of six silver coins reproducing the nations current circulating banknotes

Money is always a popular theme on money, with some excellent modern numismatic series available today, that pay homage to the past. Possibly the finest of them, CIT’s ‘Numismatic Icons’ series, is a cutting-edge example, but there are plenty of coins out there that are less ambitious in concept, but no less effective in execution. Poland has been a prime example of delving into their coin history for new releases, with the superb ‘Treasures of Stanislaw August’ medallions, and the ‘History of Polish Coin’ series.

Their latest release is a little different, choosing not to delve into the past directly, but to take Poland’s current circulating banknotes, and turn them into a set of six, one-ounce silver coins. Fortunately, Poland eschewed the practice of modern banknotes depicting architecture, social movements, etc., and chose to tap into their history, with a selection of monarchs, on one face, and either coins or Polish White Eagle heraldry on the other. Every face is different, and it forms a cohesive, but varied set of designs.

A simple concept, but one that, in our view, has made a great set of coins for the history buff. They’re not available individually, just as a six-coin set, but they appear to be beautifully presented in a wooden box, with a tray that makes display very easy. Available to order now, with a mintage capped at 3,000 sets.

10zl – Mieszko I (OBV), Denarius coin, Romanesque columns (REV)

20zl – Boleslaus I the Brave (OBV), Denarius coin, Rotunda of Saint Nicolas (REV)

50zl – Casimir II the Great (OBV), Polish White Eagle, Kraków and Kazimierz (REV)

100zl – Władysław II Jagiełło (OBV), Polish White Eagle, Grunwald swords and Teutonic armour,Malbork Castle (REV)

200zl – Sigismund I the Old (OBV), Polish White Eagle, Wawel Castle (REV)

500zl – John III Sobieski (OBV), Polish White Eagle, Wilanow Palace (REV)

MINTS DESCRIPTION

We had all been millionaires until 31 December 1994, as prices and wages were nominally expressed in millions of zlotys. A day later a redenomination of the Polish złoty was carried out. On 1 January 1995, a banknote of a face value of 10,000 złoty turned into a 1 złoty coin, and 1,000,000 złoty was a 100 new złoty. Even a grosz gained in value. In 1995, banknotes of the denominations of 10 zł, 20 zł, 50 zł, 100 zł and 200 zł were put into circulation, whereas a 500 złoty banknote was introduced into circulation in 2017. By tradition, the new series with the images of Polish rulers on banknotes was designed by Andrzej Heidrich, the “king of Polish banknotes”.

Andrzej Heidrich (1928–2019) began to collaborate with Narodowy Bank Polski in 1960. Over the years, he was commissioned by NBP to make dozens of banknote drawings and designs, however only in 1975 the banknote designed by him was put into circulation. It was a 500 złoty note depicting Tadeusz Kościuszko – the designer’s favourite banknote. Andrzej Heidrich designed the banknote series called “The Great Poles” (in circulation until 1996) and “The Polish Rulers” (in circulation from 1995 till the present day).

The stylised images of banknotes which are currently in circulation – of the face values of 10 zł, 20 zł, 50 zł, 100 zł, 200 zł and 500 zł – are presented on collector coins that make up a set of coins called “Banknotes in Circulation in Poland”. Prof. Jan Żaryn

SPECIFICATION
DENOMINATION 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 Zlotys
COMPOSITION 0.999 silver
WEIGHT 31.1 grams x 6
DIMENSIONS 50.0 x 25.0 mm
FINISH Proof
MINTAGE 3,000 sets
BOX / C.O.A. Yes / Yes