20 Zlotys Władysław Strzemiński

Strzemiński spent his final years in deliberate obscurity — stripped of his teaching post at the Łódź art academy in 1950 after refusing to comply with Socialist Realist doctrine, denied access to art supplies, and reportedly refused food ration cards by local authorities. He died destitute in 1952. Poland waited nearly six decades to put him on a coin.

The pad-printing technique used here was relatively novel for NBP issues at the time, allowing color reproduction directly onto the silver surface — a method the mint deployed selectively for coins where the subject's visual work made monochrome treatment seem inadequate.