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20 Groszy German Occupation WW II
| Issuer | General Government (Generalgouvernement) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1941-1944 |
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| Composition | Zinc |
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| Obverse description | Centrally placed Polish crowned eagle displayed with wings spread, facing forward, rendered in low relief against a plain field. The date 1923 appears above the eagle, flanked by lozenge ornaments, with the legend RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA (Republic of Poland) arching around the periphery. Mintmark W appears above the left talon and the engraver's initial J above the right talon. The design retains the pre-war Republican eagle type, restruck during German occupation using original dies. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | ♦1923♦RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA W J (Translation: REPUBLIC OF POLAND) |
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| Additional information |
The Generalgouvernement was the Nazi administrative zone carved out of occupied Polish territory after the September 1939 campaign — not incorporated into the Reich, but governed as a colonial dependency under Hans Frank. Its separate coinage in zinc was a deliberate economic instrument, legally inconvertible with Reichsmark-denominated currency and designed to contain Polish purchasing power within the occupation zone. Zinc was chosen not for convenience but because strategic metals were reserved for the war effort.
Frank was hanged at Nuremberg in 1946.