UCHWAŁA DNIA 13 AUGU: 1794. V 5 Pięć Groszy Miedziane DYREKCYA B.S.
(Translation: Resolution 13th August 1794 V 5 Five Copper Groszy Leadership [of] B.S.)
The Kościuszko Insurrection's financial apparatus had almost nothing to work with. The Supreme National Council issued these fractional notes in 1794 as a direct response to a catastrophic coin shortage — copper and silver had been hoarded or melted, and the rebellion needed to pay soldiers and suppliers in something. These tiny paper pieces, sometimes called "bilety skarbowe," were among the smallest-denomination paper money issued anywhere in Europe at that date, an extraordinary measure for a government fighting for its existence against Russian and Prussian forces simultaneously.
The insurrection collapsed in November 1794 with Kościuszko's defeat at Maciejowice and the subsequent Praga massacre. Notes of this denomination were never redeemed.
The Kościuszko Insurrection's financial apparatus had almost nothing to work with. The Supreme National Council issued these fractional notes in 1794 as a direct response to a catastrophic coin shortage — copper and silver had been hoarded or melted, and the rebellion needed to pay soldiers and suppliers in something. These tiny paper pieces, sometimes called "bilety skarbowe," were among the smallest-denomination paper money issued anywhere in Europe at that date, an extraordinary measure for a government fighting for its existence against Russian and Prussian forces simultaneously.
The insurrection collapsed in November 1794 with Kościuszko's defeat at Maciejowice and the subsequent Praga massacre. Notes of this denomination were never redeemed.