Topics of coins
100th Anniversary of Putting the Zloty into Circulation
After Poland regained independence
in November 1918,
the decision was taken swiftly
to establish a new bank of issue and
introduce a new Polish currency, the
złoty. However, the effort put into
the reconstruction of the state
and the need to fight the war
on the country’s borders made
a speedy implementation of
the reforms impossible. In
addition, since the very start of its existence
the reborn Polish state had to
fight rising inflation, which morphed
into hyperinflation in the second half
of 1923. An economic crisis set in, and
the social and political situation was
very tense.
In December 1923, the Władysław
Grabski government was formed and
the cabinet faced the task of carrying
out the fiscal and currency reforms.
The Sejm (Polish parliament) granted
the government special powers. The
government managed to make a number
of savings, impose levies on real
estate, adjust the taxes, start to actively
fight inflation and reform the banking
system. Thanks to the recovery programme,
it was possible to stabilise
the exchange rate of the Polish mark,
the then Polish currency. There was
an increase in US dollar reserves,
which along with the country’s gold
stocks, were supposed to back the new
currency.
The złoty was first put into circulation
in April 1924 and its value was carefully calculated. The new Polish
currency was based on the parity of
gold and convertible currencies. One
złoty was the equivalent of 9/31 grams
of (pure) gold; 100 złoty was equal in
value to 1 troy ounce, and the price
of 1 kilogram of
gold amounted
to 3,444 złoty.
One US dollar
cost 5.18 złoty,
and the value of the Polish currency
was pegged to the Swiss franc. According
to the reform arrangements, at
least 30% of the issue of the new Polish
currency had to be backed by gold
stocks and foreign currencies. At the
same time, the decision was made to
withdraw the existing means of payment.
The exchange rate was set at
1,800,000 Polish marks for 1 złoty. The
issue of the złoty was within the remit
of Bank Polski Spółka Akcyjna (a jointstock
company), the newly established
bank of issue which replaced the Polish
Loan Bank (Polska Krajowa Kasa
Pożyczkowa), the institution set up by
the German occupant during World
War I.
The reform proved to be an outstanding
success, because it not only
led to the consolidation of public
finances, but also provided an impulse
for the country’s economic development.
The reform also resulted in
a significant strengthening of Poland’s
position on the international arena.
Grzegorz Jeż, PhD
The reverse of the coin shows the image
of the reverse of a 1924 coin with a face
value of 1 złoty. The 2024 coin also depicts
the image of a fragment of a portal above
the entrance to the main hall of Bank Polski SA
in Warsaw and graphic elements of a 100 złoty
banknote issued in 1934: on the left side,
there is the allegory of commerce in the form
of Mercury holding a caduceus staff, and
dr Grzegorz Jeż on the right side, the personification of industry.
The obverse of the coin
features the obverse
of the 1924 coin
with a face value
of 1 złoty.