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50 Zlotych
| Issuer | Bank Polski |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 50 Zlotys (50 Złotych) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Printed in violet and rose on white paper, the obverse is framed by an intricate floral and foliate guilloche border with denomination numeral "50" in each corner medallion. The upper central area carries the issuer's title "BANK POLSKI" in an ornate cartouche, below which the large intaglio inscription "PIĘĆDZIESIĄT ZŁOTYCH" spans the width of the note. Below the title, the date "WARSZAWA dn. 28 Lutego 1919 roku." and the legend "Dyrekcja Banku Polskiego." appear above two manuscript signatures. A circular intaglio portrait vignette of Tadeusz Kościuszko in left-facing profile is positioned at lower left, while a corresponding blank watermark circle appears at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Plain circular watermark visible on the blank disc area at lower right of obverse. |
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| Comments |
Bank Polski's 1919 series was issued in the immediate aftermath of Poland regaining independence, with the country's financial infrastructure essentially being built from scratch. Having no domestic printing capacity equal to the task, the provisional government contracted the Banque de France to produce the notes in Paris — a practical arrangement that also lent the new currency a degree of credibility it could not yet earn domestically.
The watermark is the only security measure on P#56, a thin defence by any standard, and counterfeiting of the early Polish emission notes was a genuine problem during the inflationary years that followed.