Catalog
50 Zlotych
| Issuer | Narodowy Bank Polski |
|---|---|
| Year | 1946 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Second Zloty (1924-1949) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Blue-grey note with a central guilloche-bordered panel bearing the large denomination numeral '50' above the intaglio-printed inscription 'PIĘĆDZIESIĄT ZŁOTYCH' in bold letterpress. Flanking vignettes on either side depict tall sailing ships at sea against a lightly printed background. The issuer's name 'NARODOWY BANK POLSKI' runs along the top border, centred by a circular medallion bearing the Polish eagle, with the date 'WARSZAWA 15 MAJA 1946 ROKU' and three facsimile signature lines for Prezes, Naczelny Dyrektor, and Skarbnik printed beneath the central panel; denomination counters in guilloche ovals appear at lower left and right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Blue-grey reverse centred on a large rectangular vignette of a coastal harbour scene with sailing vessels and industrial ships rendered in fine engraving against a cloudy sky. The denomination title 'PIĘĆDZIESIĄT ZŁOTYCH' is inscribed across the top border, with 'ZŁ' abbreviations at upper left and right. Circular guilloche medallions at lower left and right each carry the numeral '50', flanked by anchor motifs; a lower panel bears the legal tender clause framed by ornamental scrollwork with the interlaced 'NBP' monogram at centre. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
This note belongs to the first postwar Polish issue, produced as the communist-backed Provisional Government was consolidating control and the prewar Bank of Poland had been effectively supplanted. The series was designed and printed under difficult conditions — Poland's own printing infrastructure had been devastated, and early postwar notes were produced with relatively modest security specifications, the single watermark being the primary anti-counterfeiting measure.
Circulation wear on surviving examples tends to concentrate along the horizontal fold lines, reflecting the folded-wallet habits common in the austerity years before the 1950 currency reform, which wiped out this series entirely at a punishing 100:3 conversion rate against the new złoty.