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500 Zlotych
| Issuer | Narodowy Bank Polski |
|---|---|
| Year | 1948 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Third Zloty (1949-1994) |
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| Obverse description | Printed in dark grey intaglio on cream paper, the obverse centres on a three-quarter portrait of a coal miner in a characteristic hard cap, set within an octagonal frame with ornamental corners at right; to the left, a large orange and brown guilloche rosette bears the numeral '500' at its core, surmounted by the denomination 'PIĘĆSET' in bold lettering. The Polish state eagle appears above the issuance block inscribed 'WARSZAWA DNIA 1 LIPCA 1948 ROKU', beneath which three manuscript signature lines are provided for PREZES, NACZELNY DYREKTOR, and SKARBNIK. 'NBP' monograms are printed vertically in both side margins, with the bank title 'NARODOWY BANK POLSKI' across the upper register. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 500 PIĘĆSET ZŁOTYCH 500 BILETY NARODOWEGO BANKU POLSKIEGO SĄ PRAWNYM ŚRODKIEM PŁATNICZYM W POLSCE. |
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| Comments |
The 1948 Polish 500 Złotych (P#140) belongs to the first postwar series issued under full communist consolidation of the banking system — Narodowy Bank Polski had been reconstituted as a state monobank in 1945, replacing the prewar institution in name while severing it entirely from its interwar function. This series was printed in Moscow, a detail the Polish authorities were not eager to publicize, and the Soviet origin is detectable in the printing quality and paper stock when compared against notes printed domestically in subsequent decades.
The 1950 currency reform rendered the entire series worthless at a punishing exchange rate of 100 old złotych to 1 new — effectively a confiscation of private savings. Hoarding was common beforehand; discovery by authorities was dangerous.