...Poland - 1990 Full Sets Unissued of Nine Notes Polish Cities Series

 Rzeczpospolita Polska
(Republic of Poland)

Naradowy Bank Polski
(National Bank of Poland)
Currency - Zloty (PLN)

Here is a full set of banknotes containing 9 pieces with denominations from 1 to 500 zlotych, all printed with the date of 01.03.1990. Despite these notes being printed, none of them were released for circulation, and was later decided to reject them all instead. So, what's the reason that led to the central bank to reject these notes, after all, millions of dollars would have been spent to print them in the first place?

 

According to the central bank website, these notes were printed as part of their currency reform with the intention of replacing those inflationary banknotes at the rate of one new zloty to 10000 old zlotych. In 1990, the largest denomination of note issued in Poland was the 2,000,000 zlotych. The reasons given for rejecting these notes were: -

1) The unstable Polish economy at the time, and the continuing high level of inflation thus making them worthless within a very short period;

2) These notes are easily counterfeited due to lack of sophisticated security features printed on the notes;

3) The designs also claimed to be missing the state's name, and with errors of the eagle's image. I wonder if the name of "RZEXZPOSPOLITA POLSKA" (The Republic of Poland) that it was referring to, as I do not see this printed on the 1994 series either, and the text for this series, and the 1994 series are similar.

Obviously, the government approved the manufacturing and production of the new series, and only changed its mind later. Due to the above reasons, the entire series was scrapped in 1994, and in the mid 1990s, some of these notes printed with the word "NIEOBIEGOWY" on the front, and on the back were released, and sold as novelty or souvenir to collectors. I believe the word "NIEOBIEGOWY" means non-negotiable in English. I bought a full set from a local dealer back in January 1998 for my own collection at an unbelievable rock bottom price. Unfortunately, I can not say the same for this unissued set posted here.

The currency reform was not adopted until the Polish parliament passed the law on 07.07.1994, and in 1995 the new and current series of notes were released. The current series has been ongoing for almost 20 years, and since 2006, the central bank also released commemorative banknotes in limited editions celebrating historical events, or famous Polish leaders, and sold them as numismatic products. It should be noted that Poland has been a member of the European Union since 01.05.2004. Despite being a member for almost 20 years, Poland has not decided when they will be adopting the Euro currency, thus giving up its own Zloty money. Whilst there is no condition for Poland to adopt Euro, they are obliged to do so eventually, albeit with no fixed date or death line to do so.

 

I have been informed that the central bank released 20,000 sets of these notes without the overprint word of "NIEOBIEGOWY" on 07.10.2018, and sold them as souvenirs to collectors in a booklet folder, and here I have posted a full set. So, the question needs to be asked here is what happens to the rest of the million pieces of banknotes? One would assume the reminder notes are destroyed, and storing them needs valuable spaces to do so.

 

According to the bank, the theme for this series was Polish Cities on the front, and historical monuments or City Seals on the back. Each note depicts an historical building or object in nine different cities across Poland, from the north to the south, and east to the west. The notes are all printed with almost mono colour on each denomination, and do not look sophisticated, or have good security features. These notes are all printed with watermarks of a White Eagle (Paist eagle), security threads, and with embedded fluorescent fibers in the paper. It should be also noted that these notes were printed by a reputable German security printing firm too. Maybe it was the budget that was provided by the bank that led to this failure. I wonder if this is what they called the good old saying - You get what you pay for? 

All banknotes are printed with the same dimensions, and according to the bank, the official dimensions are 138mm x 64mm.

 

Signatures : Prezes NBP (President) - Wladyslaw Baka (tenure 1989-1991)

Glowny Skarbnik (Chief Treasurer) - Jerzy Lasocki

Watermark - Polish White Eagle (Paist eagle)

Designer - Waldemar Andrzejewski

Imprinter - Giesecke & Devrient (G+D) Germany 

Dimensions - 138mm x 63mm (Official)

One Zloty

Emigration Museum in Gdynia

Front - Emigration Museum in Gdynia. This building is located at 1 Polska Street in Gdynia, and was opened to the public in 2015, showcasing 200 years of Polish emigrations. Prior to that, this building was used as a Maritime Station from the 1930s to 1979. This was where thousands of Polish emigrants left for their new homelands overseas.

 

Back - The image of the Dar Pomorza Ship which was built in 1909, and currently housed at the Gdynia's museum ship. This ship was once used as a training ship in Germany, France and Poland.

Dar Pomorza Ship

 

Two Zlotych

Mine shaft tower at Katowice

Front - An image of a mine shaft tower at Katowice. Coal, together with other metals such as steel and zinc were mined in this city. Katowice was once called Coal City. The city of Katowice is located down south of Poland close to the borders of Czechia and Slovakia. It is also the capital city of the Silesian province.

 

Back - Battle of Upper Silesia 1921 monument (Silesian Insurgents Monument in Katowice). The conflict of Silesia started from 1919 to 2021 when the Polish tried to conquer this region, and made it part of Poland's territory. At the time of the conflict, Silesia was part of the Weimar Republic (German Reich). Today, Silesia formed part of Poland's territory, and this region is situated in the south of Poland bordering mainly with Czechia. 

Battle of Upper Silesia 1921 monument

 

Five Zlotych

Town Hall in Zamosc

Front - An image of the Town Hall in Zamosc. This town hall is located at the Great Market Square in the city of Zamose, in the eastern part of Poland, very close to the border of Ukraine. This historical building was reportedly built in the 16th century.

 

Back - An image of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald medal, first introduced in November 1943 by the High Command of Gwardia Ludowa (People's Guard). Initially, this award was conferred to Polish or anyone their allied military for bravery acts against Nazi Germany, and continued to be awarded after the war. In 1992, through an Act of Parliament, this award was discontinued.  

Order of the Cross of Grunwald

 

Ten Zlotych

The Royal Castle in Warszawa

Front - The Royal Castle in Warszawa (Warsaw). This castle was built in 1619 for the Polish monarchs, and was destroyed during the Second World War by the Nazi. Between 1970-1980, it was then reconstructed, and today, this building serves as a museum.

 

Back - The image of a Mermaid statue at the bank of Vistula River in Warsaw. This bronze sculpture symbolised heroism of the Polish people in defending the city. The Mermaid is showing her right arm holding a sword above her head, and a shield with her left hand. No doubt, this is one of the tourist attractions in Warsaw. The Vistula River split Warsaw into two sections, and it flows from the mountains in the south to the Baltic Sea in the north.

Mermaid status at the bank of Vistula River in Warsaw

 

Twenty Zlotych

The Crane (Zuraw) in Gdansk

Front - The Crane (Zuraw) in Gdansk. This building was first mentioned in the year 1300+, and was then destroyed in a fire in 1442. It was then rebuilt in 1444. The purpose of this Crane was to transfer cargoes, and to put up masts on ships. This building was almost destroyed in 1939 during the Battle for Gdansk, and was repaired after the war. Today this building housed the Polish Maritime Museum. The city of Gdansk is located about 22 kilometers south of Gdynia (see 1 zlotych above).

 

Back - Statue of Neptune from fountain in Gdansk. This fountain is located at the Dlugi Targ (Long Market). This fountain was built in 1633, and is one of the most distinctive landmarks in Gdansk.

Statue of Neptune from fountain in Gdansk

Fifty Zlotych

Old Gothic Town Hall in Wroclaw

Front - Old Gothic Town Hall in Wroclaw, which was built in the 13th century, is located in the center of the city's Market Square. This Town Hall was partly damaged during the Second World War, and was repaired in the 1950s. Today, this Town Hall is used as a museum.

 

Back - Seal of the city of Wroclaw. A city of just over 670,000 people, and is located in the southwestern of Poland.

Seal of the city of Wroclaw

 

One Hundred Zlotych

Town Hall in Poznan

Front - The historical Town Hall in Poznan, which was built in the late 13th century, is one of the tourist attractions in the city.

 

Back - Seal of the city of Poznan. Poznan is located on the River Wartan the west-central of Poland. Today it has a population of just over 500,000 people. This city was established in the 10th century.

 

Seal of the city of Poznan

 

Two Hundred Zlotych

Wawel Castle in Cracow

Front - Wawel Castle in Cracow/Krakow, built between the 13th and 14th centuries, by the order of King Casimir lll The Great (b.1310-1370). This Castle is located in the old town of Krakow, and was once used as the venue for Royal coronations. This castle is now a tourist attraction in the city of Krakow.

 

Back - Grosz (coin) from the Casimir the Great era. I could be wrong, Casimir lll the Great reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He was born in 1310 in Kowat Poland and died in 1370 in Krakow Poland, aged 60 years old.

Grosz (coin)

 

Five Hundred Zlotych

The Royal Gniezno Cathedral in the city of Gniezno

Front - The Royal Gniezno Cathedral in the city of Gniezno. This Cathedral was built in the 11th century.

 

Back - Seal of the City of Gniezno. This city is situated in the central-western of Poland and was founded between the 8th-10 century. It has a population of 67,000 people, and technically it should not be called a city.

 

Seal of the City of Gniezno

 

Booklet front cover - banknotes never put into circulation, the 'Polish Cities' series