100 Zlotych Mikolaj Kopernik

Poland's communist government launched an extensive silver commemorative program in the early 1970s, and the Kopernik issue arrived precisely as the country prepared for the 500th anniversary of the astronomer's birth in 1973. The choice was politically convenient — Copernicus was Polish-born in Toruń, a fact the state was keen to emphasize against persistent German claims to his heritage, given that much of his life and work unfolded in a region of contested historical identity.

The .625 fineness is notably lower than the .750 silver used in earlier Polish commemoratives, a quiet adjustment reflecting hard-currency pressures on the Polish economy during Gierek's expansion years.