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2 Marks
| Issuer | Polska Krajowa Kasa Pożyczkowa (Polish National Loan Bank) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | The left portion of the obverse is dominated by a large oval vignette of the Polish White Eagle on a red shield, rendered in fine intaglio line work and framed by an ornate rectangular border with floral and foliate letterpress decoration. The denomination numeral "2" appears in the lower corners flanking a central oval seal. The upper right carries the large red letterpress title inscription, with a block of black text below stating the German Reich's liability guarantee and the authority of the General Governorship of Warsaw, dated Warsaw, 9 December 1916, along with two manuscript signatures. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in red-brown and green, with a large central guilloche rosette in green bearing the bold numeral "2" at its centre. Two symmetrical oval vignettes at left and right each contain a classical female portrait head in red-brown, with small denomination numerals "2" flanking them. The upper and lower margins carry the issuing authority title and denomination inscription in letterpress, with the serial number in black below the central rosette. |
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| Comments |
The Polska Krajowa Kasa Pożyczkowa was established in 1916 under German occupation as the issuing authority for the new Polish Mark, a deliberate administrative separation from the Russian ruble system that had governed the territory. The bank answered ultimately to German military and economic command, but its existence was also a calculated political gesture — the occupiers needed a functioning currency apparatus, and Polish institutional branding helped legitimize circulation.
Printing at the S. Manitius press in Łódź rather than in Germany was a practical wartime decision; shipping finished notes across an active military zone was its own risk. Łódź had been under German occupation since December 1914.