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50 Zlotys Bolesław II Śmiały, Trial Strike
| Issuer | Narodowy Bank Polski |
|---|---|
| Year | 1981 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Obverse: Anna Jarnuszkiewicz Reverse: Ewa Olszewska-Borys |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a finely detailed facing bust of King Bolesław II Śmiały (Bolesław the Bold), shown wearing an ornate royal crown and a decorative chain mail collar with intricate ring detailing. The king is portrayed with flowing hair, a moustache, and a short beard, in a romanticized medieval style. The inscription 'BOLESŁAW II' appears to the upper left and 'ŚMIAŁY' to the upper right of the effigy, with the regnal dates '1058' and '1079' flanking the bust at the lower field. The word 'PRÓBA' (trial/pattern) is inscribed to the left of the bust, confirming the coin's status as a proof strike. The design was engraved by Ewa Olszewska-Borys. |
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| Additional information |
Bolesław II was excommunicated by Pope Gregory VII in 1079 following his murder of Bishop Stanisław of Kraków — an act that ultimately cost him the throne and forced his exile to Hungary. The Polish communist state found a certain utility in rehabilitating medieval kings as nationalist symbols, and this series of trial strikes from Narodowy Bank Polski in the early 1980s sits squarely within that program, issued as Solidarity was forcing the government into increasingly defensive cultural postures.
The ParM and Fischer cross-references here indicate this is the copper-nickel variant; a silver trial exists under closely related catalog numbers.