Topics of coins
160th Anniversary of the January Uprising
The January Uprising was one of the most important
events in 19th century Poland. Its premature launch was
due to the announcement of compulsory conscription
to the Russian army, a move that was supposed to break
up the Polish conspiracy movement. On the night of 22 to
23 January 1863, an armed uprising against the Russian
occupier began and the Manifesto was proclaimed by
the Provisional National government calling to arms the
nations of the former Polish Commonwealth. The visible
symbol of the joint struggle was the adopted tripartite coat
of arms featuring the Polish Eagle, the Lithuanian Chase
and Michael the Archangel symbolizing Ruthenia. The coat
of arms also featured an inscription describing the goals
of the insurrection: Equality–Freedom–Independence.
Despite the uprising’s insufficient preparation and
premature launch, the insurgents fought a heroic battle
against the Russian Empire for one and a half years. In the
face of overwhelming enemy superiority and an acute
shortage of weapons, the only viable form of combat was
guerrilla warfare. It engulfed the Kingdom of Poland and
large swathes of today’s Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine.
Great support was provided by Poles living in the other
two partitions: the Prussian and the Austrian. This is
where volunteers, weapons and supplies came from, and
this is where the insurgents found refuge.
Enemy superiority and the brutal repressions it applied
suppressed the insurrection. Graves, exiles and emigrants,
destruction and forced contributions as well as the
adopted sharp course towards Russification were the price
which the Poles paid for their emancipatory aspirations.
The peasant reforms carried out at that time contributed,
however, to opening a new era in Polish history and to
the inclusion of the rural population in the national
movement.
The insurrection of 1863–1864 became a moral foundation
for those who fought for the independence of their
homeland during World War I. After Poland regained
independence, the insurgents gained veteran status. They
were entitled to wear special uniforms, they received honours,
and their fellow countrymen widely considered them to be
living legends of the struggle for freedom. The memory of
the January Uprising left a clear mark on the national culture
and heritage, becoming an important element in building the
historic awareness of many subsequent generations of Poles.
The central part of the reverse of the gold coin features
a panoply with banners and the January Uprising tripartite
coat of arms composed of the crowned White Eagle
symbolizing Poland, the Chase symbolizing Lithuania and
Michael the Archangel symbolizing Ruthenia. The image
presented on the coin constitutes a fragment of a banner
from the times of the January Uprising (the banner from the
collection of the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw).
The reverse of the silver coin features a fragment of
a drawing by Walery Eljasz-Radzikowski entitled
“Insurgent patrol in 1863” depicting a group of Polish
insurgents. On the left, there is a seal of the Polish
National Government with a crowned tripartite coat of
arms featuring the White Eagle, the Chase and Michael
the Archangel. Around the coat of arms, an inscription:
RZĄD NARODOWY RÓWNOŚĆ WOLNOŚĆ
NIEPODLEGŁOŚĆ [POLISH NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
EQUALITY FREEDOM INDEPENDENCE].
The obverse of the silver coin features a stylised banner
and weapons (scythe, sabre, rifle) from the January
Uprising period.
Wojciech Kalwat