1000 Zlotys Environmental Protection - Swan, Trial Strike

Poland's environmental protection coin series of the 1980s was issued under the Polish People's Republic at a moment when the country's industrial output — much of it Soviet-directed heavy industry in Silesia — was producing some of the worst air and water pollution in Europe. The series was, in that sense, quietly ironic. Trial strikes like this one were produced for collector and archival purposes, with nickel proofings made alongside the issued silver to test dies and document the type before full production.