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100 Zlotys General Wladyslaw Sikorski, Trial Strike
| Issuer | National Bank of Poland (Narodowy Bank Polski) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1981 |
| Type | Coin pattern |
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| Obverse description | The Polish national emblem, a crowned white eagle with wings displayed and talons raised, occupies the central field. The circular legend POLSKA RZECZPOSPOLITA LUDOWA arcs along the upper periphery, while the denomination ZŁ 100 ZŁ is positioned in the lower field. The date 19 81 is divided and placed on either side of the eagle's body at mid-field. The mintmark MW appears below the date, denoting the Warsaw Mint. The design is rendered in high relief with a polished proof-like finish typical of Próba (trial) strikings. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Sikorski died in a still-unexplained plane crash at Gibraltar in July 1943 — the wreckage went into the sea, witnesses gave contradictory accounts, and theories ranging from mechanical failure to assassination by British or Soviet intelligence have never been fully resolved. That ambiguity made him a complex figure to rehabilitate officially, and the Polish communist government was slow to honor a wartime leader whose government-in-exile in London had been so pointedly anti-Soviet. A commemorative issue appearing in 1981 sits in the middle of the Solidarity crisis, when selective appeals to Polish national heroes carried their own political charge.
The nickel trial strike designation — versus the cupro-nickel circulation pieces — indicates this was a pre-production test, almost certainly struck at the Warsaw Mint for approval purposes rather than distribution.