10 Zlotys Adam Mickiewicz, Trial Strike

Trial strikes from Mennica Polska in the 1970s were produced primarily for internal approval purposes — submitted to the National Bank of Poland for design and metallurgical sign-off before full production was authorized. Most were never intended to leave the mint, which explains why survivors appear in collector hands only sporadically. The Mickiewicz 10 Złotych circulating issue was eventually released in 1975, meaning this nickel trial predates the approved production run by at least a year.

Mickiewicz died in Constantinople in 1855, likely of cholera, while attempting to organize Polish and Jewish legions against Russia during the Crimean War.