Catalog
20 Zlotych
| Issuer | Bank Polski |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Zlotys (20 Złotych) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANK POLSKI DWADZIEŚCIA ZŁOTYCH WARSZAWA dn. 28. Lutego 1919 roku DYREKCJA BANKU POLSKIEGO |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Blank oval watermark area visible on both obverse and reverse, corresponding to the unprinted oval cartouches; paper watermark incorporated during manufacture by Banque de France. |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Bank Polski's 20 Złotych of 1919 was printed in Paris by the Banque de France at a moment when Poland had only just re-emerged as a sovereign state after 123 years of partition. The choice of the Banque de France as printer was pragmatic — Poland had no domestic printing infrastructure capable of producing secure currency, and France was the principal Allied patron of the new Polish republic.
The watermark was the primary anti-counterfeiting measure, a modest security provision by the standards of the Banque de France's own output, reflecting the rushed nature of the commission rather than any technical shortcoming.