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200 000 Zlotys Papacy, Gold Bullion
| Issuer | Mint of Poland (Mennica Polska) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1988 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 373.20 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A finely modelled bust of Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyła) is depicted in three-quarter profile facing left, wearing the white zucchetto and papal vestments, his clasped hands raised in an attitude of prayer. The portrait, engraved by Ewa Tyc-Karpińska, fills the majority of the field and is rendered with exceptional sculptural detail in deeply frosted relief against mirror-polished fields. The legend JAN PAWEŁ II arcs along the upper left periphery, while X LAT PONTYFIKATU — commemorating the tenth anniversary of the pontificate — arcs along the upper right, both inscriptions in spaced capital letters. The engraver's initial E is visible at the lower left of the design near the truncation. The smooth edge and large format of the coin lend the portrait a medallion-like grandeur. |
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| Mintage | 1988 MW - Proof - 300 |
| Additional information |
Issued in 1988 under the final years of communist rule in Poland, this piece occupies an awkward political position: the state mint producing a large-format gold coin honoring John Paul II while the ruling PZPR was simultaneously trying to suppress the Catholic Church's growing alliance with Solidarity. Hard currency was desperately needed — Poland was carrying foreign debt exceeding $40 billion by the late 1980s — and bullion issues like this were effectively sold abroad to generate it.
Mintage figures for this type remain poorly documented, a persistent problem with late-PRL numismatic issues where production records were not consistently preserved or released.