Catalog
50 000 Zlotych
| Issuer | Narodowy Bank Polski (National Bank of Poland) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1993 |
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| Currency | Third Zloty (1949-1994) |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio portrait vignette of Stanisław Staszic, Polish statesman and scholar, occupies the left half of the note against a fine guilloche underprint in brown and orange tones. To the right, the large numeral '50000' is printed in dark green, surmounted by the inscription 'Rzeczpospolita Polska' and flanked by ornate foliate border elements; below it the denomination in words, the Warsaw date, and two facsimile signatures of the President and Chief Treasurer of the National Bank of Poland appear alongside the national eagle coat of arms in an intaglio panel. The denomination '50000' is repeated in red letterpress at the lower left. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark, Security thread |
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| Comments |
By 1993, Polish inflation had been running at catastrophic rates for years — the 50,000 złoty note, once an enormous sum, had been reduced to covering little more than a bus fare. The denomination was part of a final, bloated chapter of the old złoty system before the 1995 redenomination slashed four zeros from the currency entirely, replacing 10,000 old złotych with a single new złoty.
PWPW has printed Polish banknotes continuously since its Warsaw founding in 1919, surviving the Nazi occupation — during which the facility was seized — and resuming state production after 1945. P#159 belongs to the last generation of notes the redenomination rendered obsolete overnight.