Topics of coins
Banknotes in Circulation in Poland – The 50 Złoty Note
We had all been “millionaires” until 31 December
1994, because prices and salaries were expressed
nominally in millions of złotys. A day later
a redenomination of the Polish złoty was carried
out. On 1 January 1995, a banknote of the face
value of 10,000 złoty was replaced with a 1 złoty
coin, and 1 million złoty became 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. The new series with
the images of Polish rulers on banknotes was
designed as usual by Andrzej Heidrich, the “king
of Polish banknotes”.
Andrzej Heidrich (1928–2019) began to collaborate
with Narodowy Bank Polski in 1960. At that time,
he was invited to take part in a closed competition
for the design of a new 1,000 złoty banknote. His
design and two others won awards. Over the years,
he was commissioned by NBP to make dozens of
banknote drawings and designs, however only in
1975 was the first banknote designed by him put
into circulation. It was a 500 złoty note depicting
Tadeusz Kościuszko. “I was really moved,” he said.
”When I paid with the banknote or saw other
people paying, I often caught myself thinking: it’s
my work.”
Andrzej Heidrich designed the banknote series
called “The Great Poles” (designs made in the
years 1974–1993, in circulation in the years 1975–1996) and “The Polish Rulers” (designs made
in 1994, in circulation from 1995 till the present day).
Jan Żaryn
In 2023, Narodowy Bank Polski inaugurated
the series of gold collector coins “Banknotes in
Circulation in Poland” struck with proof finish.
The gold collector coin with a face value of 50 złoty,
featuring a stylised image of a contemporary
circulation banknote with a face value of 50 złoty,
was issued as the third coin of the series.
On the reverse, in the central part, a portrait of
King Casimir the Great can be seen in a decorative
medallion. A stylised Gothic rosette is depicted in the background of the inscriptions. On the right of
the portrait, there is an oval with fragments of
a crown and, below it, a crowned letter “K”. An
ornament with a crown is placed underneath.
In the centre of the obverse, there is an image
of the White Eagle from the imperial seal of
King Casimir the Great, and his regalia – the
sceptre and the orb – beneath. On the left,
there is a stylised fragment of the panorama
of Kazimierz with the inscription: CASMIRVS,
an oval with fragments of a crown can be seen
above. On the right, a stylised fragment of
the panorama of Kraków with the inscription
CRACOVIA is depicted.