2018-08-01 Wed

Polish Security Printing Works in Warsaw would be printing up to 50,000 commemorative 20-zloty bank note on 31st August to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the country’s independence. The country became "Second Polish Republic" after it got independence from the German, Austrian, and Russian empires in 1918.

The regular 20-zloty notes would continue to circulate along with the commemorative versions. The regular issues are 126-millimeter by 63-millimeter in size while the commemorative issues would be 150 millimeters by 77 millimeters.

The obverse features a portrait of national hero Jozef Pilsudski, who became the chief of state of the new republic when it was founded in 1922. A badge of the Polish Military Organization, the cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, and a badge of Poland’s World War I 1st Legion Brigade are also featured on the obverse. The reverse depicts Poland’s national flag, a legionary eagle holding an Amazonian shield and the text RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA (Republic of Poland).

This would be the 10th commemorative banknote to be issued by Poland. The first one was a 50-zloty note for Pope John Paul II that was issued in 2006. 20-zloty notes were issued to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Marie Curie’s Nobel Prize, the 200th birth anniversary of Frederic Chopin, and the 300th anniversary of Coronation of Image of Our Lady of Czestochowa.

Image Courtesy: National Bank of Poland