Topics of coins
The 20 zloty 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 20 złoty,
featuring a stylised image of a contemporary
circulation banknote with a face value of 20 złoty,
was issued as the second coin of the series.
On the reverse, in the central part, a portrait of
King Boleslaus the Brave is depicted in a decorative medallion. An outline of a Romanesque
portal 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 stylised
oak underneath.
In the centre of the obverse, there is an image
of a silver denarius – a coin from the period
of the reign of Boleslaus the Brave. On the left
of the denarius, there is an image of a rotunda;
an oval with fragments of a crown can be seen
above. On the right, a lion climbing a plant
strand is depicted.