10 Cents Seamen's Trade Vouchers. Baltona

Baltona was the Polish state foreign trade enterprise that operated duty-free shops at seaports, airports, and aboard vessels — selling Western goods inaccessible through normal retail channels. These vouchers were issued to merchant seamen as a controlled substitute for hard currency, allowing them to purchase goods at Baltona outlets without handling foreign exchange directly. The system let the state capture sailors' foreign earnings while rationing their access to imported merchandise.

The 1973 series was printed domestically. Seamen's scrip of this type circulated quietly alongside the better-known PEWEX bon system, though Baltona vouchers remain considerably less documented in collector literature.