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20 Zlotys Restoration of Krakow, Trial Strike
| Issuer | Narodowy Bank Polski (National Bank of Poland) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1981 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Zlotys (20 Złotych) (20 PLZ) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The central motif depicts a detailed relief view of the Barbican of Kraków (Barbakan), the distinctive circular Gothic-Renaissance fortification with multiple turrets and a central arched gateway, rendered with considerable architectural precision. The structure is shown in three-quarter perspective, conveying its massive cylindrical form and crenellated towers. The Latin legend 'CRACOVIA TOTIUS POLONIAE URBS CELEBERRIMA' ('Kraków, the most famous city of all Poland') encircles the design along the periphery, with bullet-point separators. The word 'PRÓBA' (meaning 'trial' or 'pattern') appears in the lower exergual area, confirming the coin's status as a trial strike. |
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| Additional information |
Poland's postwar commemorative program occasionally produced trial strikes in alternative metals before committing to a final composition, and this Krakow issue is a surviving artifact of that process. The 1981 date places it in one of the most turbulent years of late communist Poland — Solidarity's mass strikes, the imposition of martial law in December, and the near-collapse of state authority all unfolded as the mint was producing pieces like this one. Whether the trial program continued uninterrupted through that period or was disrupted is not well documented.
The ParM and Fischer references both catalog this as a distinct trial type, not a proof or pattern in the decorative sense but a metallurgical test striking.