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500 Zlotys
| Issuer | Narodowy Bank Polski |
|---|---|
| Year | 1990 |
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| Printer | Giesecke+Devrient (Giesecke & Devrient), Leipzig, Germany (1852-date) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is dominated by a large vertical vignette of the Archcathedral Basilica of St. Adalbert in Gniezno, rendered in fine intaglio from a low perspective that accentuates the Gothic spires and architectural detailing. The issuing authority, denomination in numerals and words, the date WARSZAWA, 28 GRUDNIA 1990 r., and the titles PREZES and GŁÓWNY SKARBNIK are arranged around the central vignette, complemented by guilloche underprint patterns. Signature lines appear below the cathedral motif. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse centres on the Polish national emblem — the crowned white eagle — set against a background of fine guilloche work. Below the eagle, the historical seal of the city of Gniezno is reproduced with its heraldic detail. The denomination is repeated in the corners and the legal tender inscription runs along the lower margin. |
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| Comments |
The 500 Złotych of 1990 belongs to the final chapter of communist-era Polish banknote design — issued just as the Balcerowicz Plan's "shock therapy" reforms were dismantling the old monetary order. Hyperinflation had already savaged purchasing power so badly that this denomination, once meaningful, was functionally trivial by the time notes reached circulation. The entire series was withdrawn and replaced within a few years as part of the 1995 redenomination, when 10,000 old złotych became 1 new złoty.
Andrzej Heidrich designed virtually the entire Polish banknote series of this period — a near-monopoly on national paper currency design that lasted decades.