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1 Grosz German Occupation WW II, Trial Strike

Issuer Poland
Year 1939
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Composition Zinc
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Obverse description The obverse features a stylized Polish eagle displayed with wings spread, rendered in the bold Art Deco manner characteristic of interwar Polish coinage; the eagle faces forward with its head turned to the right, a crown surmounting its head, and talons visible at the base of the design. The date 1939 is inscribed in the upper field above the eagle's crown, flanked on each side by lozenge-shaped decorative stops. The circular legend RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA runs along the periphery, and the engraver's initials J W appear in the lower right field. The graphic treatment of the plumage is bold and highly stylized, consistent with the aesthetic of the period.
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Reverse description The reverse is dominated by a large, stylized numeral '1' surmounted by or interlocked with a decorative crown, occupying the upper portion of the field in a manner typical of Art Deco typographic design. Beneath this device, the word GROSZ is inscribed in large capital letters spanning the width of the coin, constituting the primary denomination legend. Along the lower arc of the field, the word PRÓBA appears in smaller characters, denoting the coin's status as a trial or pattern strike. The overall design is clean and graphic, with minimal ornamentation beyond the central numeral and crown motif.
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Additional information

The German occupation coinage for Poland was hastily designed in 1939 to replace the existing Polish currency across the Generalgouvernement, the administrative zone carved out of occupied Polish territory following the September campaign. This trial strike in zinc — a material chosen explicitly because copper and nickel were being redirected to German war production — preceded the circulating issues that began reaching Polish hands in 1940. Trial pieces from this planning phase were never intended to leave official hands.

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