Poland's 1983 papal visit by John Paul II — his second to his homeland — took place under martial law, recently lifted in name but sustained in practice by the Jaruzelski government. The commemorative program surrounding the visit produced several authorized and trial-strike variants, and distinguishing official approved issues from pre-production pieces requires careful attention to edge treatment and die alignment. This trial strike falls into that contested zone.
The Fischer and Parchimowicz references diverge slightly on classification, which itself signals how irregular the approval process was for this series.
Poland's 1983 papal visit by John Paul II — his second to his homeland — took place under martial law, recently lifted in name but sustained in practice by the Jaruzelski government. The commemorative program surrounding the visit produced several authorized and trial-strike variants, and distinguishing official approved issues from pre-production pieces requires careful attention to edge treatment and die alignment. This trial strike falls into that contested zone.
The Fischer and Parchimowicz references diverge slightly on classification, which itself signals how irregular the approval process was for this series.