Catalog
500 Zlotych
| Issuer | Bank Polski |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANK POLSKI PIĘCSET ZŁOTYCH WARSZAWA dn 28 Lutego 1919 roku DYREKCJA BANKU POLSKIEGO GŁÓWNY SKARBNIK ZŁOTYCH 500 |
| Reverse description | Printed in olive-green tones, the reverse carries a large circular watermark reserve at upper left and a central vignette of the Polish crowned eagle displayed within a circular medallion at upper right, set above elaborate scrollwork ornament. The central text panel bears the legal tender declaration and anti-counterfeiting warning in Polish, framed by guilloche borders with the numeral 500 repeated at left and right. The denomination inscription PIĘĆSET ZŁOTYCH appears in a recessed panel at the foot of the note. |
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| Comments |
Bank Polski's 500 Złotych of 1919 was issued during an extraordinary window — Poland had just re-emerged as a sovereign state after 123 years of partition, and the new government desperately needed a functioning currency before any stable monetary infrastructure existed. Waterlow & Sons in London produced the notes because there was no domestic printing capacity capable of handling the job.
The Polish mark was already in circulation alongside this zloty-denominated paper, creating genuine confusion in daily commerce. The watermark security feature was among the few practical counterfeit deterrents available under the rushed production timeline.