Catalog
2 Zlotys German occupation
| Issuer | Bank Emisyjny w Polsce (Bank of Issue in Poland) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1940 |
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| Reference(s) | P#92 |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANK EMISYJNY W POLSCE DWA ZŁOTE BANK EMISYJNY W POLSCE KRAKÓW 1. MARCA 1940 R. PREZYDENT ZASTĘPCA PREZYDENTA DWA ZŁOTE (Translation: Bank of Issue in Poland Two Zlotys Kraków 1 March 1940 President Deputy President) |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in shades of grey-brown and composed entirely of intricate guilloche lacework. Three large rosette medallions dominate the central field, each incorporating the numeral '2' alongside the stylised złoty symbol, set within elaborate lathe-work borders. The issuer inscription runs along the top panel, and the denomination 'DWA ZŁOTE' is displayed across the lower panel flanked by the numerals '2' at each corner. |
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| Comments |
The Bank Emisyjny w Polsce was a German-controlled institution established in April 1940 to replace the Bank of Poland and sever the occupied territory's financial ties with the Polish government-in-exile in London. Its notes were deliberately designed to look authoritative — a psychological tool as much as a monetary one. The bank's statutes formally prohibited it from financing the Polish state, which was the point entirely.
The PWPW printing plant had been evacuated from Warsaw before the German occupation and relocated to Kraków, where this note was produced — a detail that frequently causes confusion when the Warsaw-based printer credit is read against the actual place of manufacture.