200 000 Zlotys Kosciuszko Insurrection, Trial Strike

Trial strikes from Mennica Polska in the 1990s occupy an awkward category — neither proof issues nor rejected designs, but internal test pieces produced to verify die alignment, metal flow, and press calibration before full production runs. This particular piece commemorates the Kościuszko Insurrection of 1794, the Polish uprising led by Tadeusz Kościuszko against the partitioning powers of Russia and Prussia that ultimately failed and precipitated the Third Partition — the one that erased Poland from the map of Europe for 123 years.

The nickel composition distinguishes it from the issued version. Fischer and ParM catalog it as a pattern; surviving examples are rarely duplicated in institutional holdings.