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500 Zlotys
| Issuer | Narodowy Bank Polski |
|---|---|
| Year | 1947 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in steel-blue intaglio on a cream paper ground, with an elaborate guilloche border enclosing four cornerpiece ovals each bearing the numeral '500' in white on a dark ground. The central vignette presents an allegorical female figure in classical robes, standing and holding an anchor, set against a light underprint of the Polish crowned eagle in terracotta-orange. The issuer's title 'NARODOWY BANK POLSKI' appears on a ribbon cartouche at the top, the denomination '500 ZŁOTYCH' in large letterpress to the left and right of the vignette, and the place and date of issue 'WARSZAWA 15 LIPCA 1947 ROKU' together with three facsimile signature blocks to the right. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is executed entirely in dark blue-green intaglio on cream paper, with a matching guilloche border and four cornerpiece medallions each carrying the numeral '500' in white. The central rectangular vignette renders a detailed harbour scene — a large steamship moored at quayside with a tall portal crane to the left and additional vessels visible in the background — evoking Poland's postwar industrial reconstruction and maritime trade. Below the vignette, a legal tender inscription flanks a circular 'NBP' monogram medallion, and the denomination 'PIĘĆSET ZŁOTYCH' is repeated on a ribbon cartouche at the top of the design. |
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| Comments |
Poland's postwar monetary rebuild was messy. The 1944–1945 currency reform had replaced occupation-era Reichskreditkassen notes and the wartime złoty, but hyperinflationary pressure continued well into the late 1940s, and high-denomination notes like this 500 złotych were necessary precisely because the currency's purchasing power had been so badly eroded. By 1950, the entire series — including this issue — was swept away by the brutal grosz reform, in which Poles exchanged old złotych at a rate of 100 to 3, wiping out savings.
P#132 was printed by the Państwowa Wytwórnia Papierów Wartościowych in Warsaw, the state security printing works re-established after the near-total destruction of the city.