5 Zlotys Pomeranian Dukes' Castle in Szczecin

The castle at Szczecin served as the seat of the Griffins, a Pomeranian dynasty that survived as nominal dukes under successive foreign overlords — Brandenburg, Sweden, and finally Prussia — until the male line died out in 1637. Poland's "History of Polish Cities" coin series, of which this is part, reflects a post-communist effort to assert historical Polish connection to the Recovered Territories, lands transferred from Germany to Poland in 1945. Szczecin's inclusion is quietly pointed: the city was ethnically German for centuries and only became majority Polish after mass postwar expulsions.