Topics of coins
The 10 zloty Notel
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).
The gold collector coin with a face value of
10 złoty struck with proof finish features a stylised
image of a contemporary circulation banknote,
with a face value of 10 złoty.
On the reverse, in the central part, a portrait of Duke
Mieszko I is depicted in a decorative medallion.
Two stylised Romanesque rosettes can be seen
in the background of the inscriptions. On the
right of the portrait, there is an oval with
fragments of a crown, and a decorative plant
ornament underneath.
In the centre of the obverse, there is an image
of a silver denarius with a depiction of a chapel
dome or an image of a crown with a cross.
The denarius is flanked by stylised fragments
of columns and a ribbon. On the left of the
image of the denarius, there is an oval with
fragments of a crown.
Jan Żaryn