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20 Zlotych
| Issuer | Narodowy Bank Polski |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in dark green on a pale pink guilloche underprint, with the numeral '20' in large format at each of the four corners framed by ornate rosette vignettes. The central cartouche bears the Polish eagle above the denomination spelled out in full as 'DWADZIEŚCIA ZŁOTYCH', beneath which a legal tender clause and an anti-counterfeiting warning appear in smaller letterpress text. The issuer's name 'NARODOWY BANK POLSKI' arcs along the upper border within an elaborate engraved frame of scrollwork and foliate ornament, with the date '1944' set in a heart-shaped cartouche at the lower centre. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
This note belongs to the first currency series issued by the Soviet-backed Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN), printed in the USSR and introduced in August 1944 as the Red Army pushed across the Vistula. The series was a deliberate political instrument — establishing a parallel monetary authority to delegitimize the London-backed Polish government-in-exile and its own currency apparatus.
Printing quality varies noticeably across surviving examples, a consequence of wartime Soviet press conditions rather than Polish ones. The watermark is the only security feature, thin cover against forgery but sufficient for a currency backed by an occupying military force.