Issued as part of Poland's long-running folklore and cultural heritage collector series, this coin commemorates Noc Świętojańska — the Slavic midsummer festival tied to the feast of St. John, celebrated on the shortest night of the year. The holiday predates Christianity in Poland, rooted in pre-Christian fertility rites involving bonfires, wreath-floating on rivers, and the legendary search for the blooming fern flower, said to reveal hidden treasure to whoever found it.
The hologram element on the silver flan was a technically ambitious choice for the Mennica Polska at the time, applied to evoke the otherworldly, luminescent quality the festival traditionally carries in Polish folk tradition.
Issued as part of Poland's long-running folklore and cultural heritage collector series, this coin commemorates Noc Świętojańska — the Slavic midsummer festival tied to the feast of St. John, celebrated on the shortest night of the year. The holiday predates Christianity in Poland, rooted in pre-Christian fertility rites involving bonfires, wreath-floating on rivers, and the legendary search for the blooming fern flower, said to reveal hidden treasure to whoever found it.
The hologram element on the silver flan was a technically ambitious choice for the Mennica Polska at the time, applied to evoke the otherworldly, luminescent quality the festival traditionally carries in Polish folk tradition.