100 Zlotys Ludwik Zamenhof, Trial Strike

Zamenhof, the Warsaw-born ophthalmologist who published the first Esperanto grammar in 1887, was selected for this commemorative as part of Poland's broader effort during the late 1970s to celebrate figures of Jewish heritage — a calculated cultural gesture given the state's complicated relationship with its decimated Jewish population. Trial strikes like this one were produced by Mennica Polska for internal approval purposes and rarely escaped official channels, which accounts for their extreme scarcity relative to the issued circulation pieces.

The .625 silver alloy used here differs from the fineness of the standard issued coin, a detail that distinguishes trial and proof presentation pieces in this series.