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Polish zloty
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The zloty (pron. , the nominative plural used for numbers ending in 2, 3 and 4 (except ending in 12, 13 and 14): zlote , the genitive plural used for all other numbers: zlotych , (sign: zl; code: PLN) literally meaning "golden", is the currency of Poland. The modern zloty is subdivided into 100 groszy (singular: grosz, alternative plural form: grosze).
As a result of inflation in the early 1990s, the currency underwent redenomination.
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Encyclopedia
The zloty (pron. , the nominative plural used for numbers ending in 2, 3 and 4 (except ending in 12, 13 and 14): zlote , the genitive plural used for all other numbers: zlotych , (sign: zl; code: PLN) literally meaning "golden", is the currency of Poland. The modern zloty is subdivided into 100 groszy (singular: grosz, alternative plural form: grosze).
As a result of inflation in the early 1990s, the currency underwent redenomination. Thus, on 1 January 1995, 10 000 old zlotych (PLZ) became one new zloty (PLN).
History
First zloty, until 1850
Kingdom of Poland and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The zloty is a traditional Polish currency unit dating back to the Middle Ages. Initially, in the 14th and 15th centuries, the name was used for all kinds of foreign gold coins used in Poland, most notably German and Ruthenian ducats. In 1496 the Sejm approved the creation of a national currency, the zloty, and its value was set at 30 groszy, a coin minted since 1347 and modelled on the Prague groschen. The grosz was subdivided into 2 poltura or 3 solidi.
The name zloty (sometimes referred to as the florin) was used for a number of different coins, including the 30 groszy coin called the polski zloty, the czerwony zloty (Red gulden) and the zloty renski (the Rhine ducat), which were in circulation at the time. However, the value of the Polish zloty dropped over time relative to these foreign coins and it became a silver coin, with the foreign ducats eventually circulating at approximately 5 zlotych.
Following the monetary reform carried out by King Stanislaw August Poniatowski, the zloty became Poland's official currency and the exchange rate of 1 zloty to 30 groszy was confirmed. Until 1787, the zloty was tied to the Conventionsthaler of the Holy Roman Empire, with 8 zloty equal to one Conventionsthaler and, consequently, 4 groschen equal to the zloty. Two debasements of the currency occurred in the years before the final partition of Poland.
Duchy of Warsaw
The zloty remained in circulation after the Partitions of Poland and the Duchy of Warsaw issued coins denominated in grosz, zloty and talar (plurals talary and talarów), worth 6 zloty. Talar banknotes were also issued.
Congress Kingdom, 1815-1850
From 1816, the zloty currency was issued by the Russian controlled Congress Kingdom, with a fixed exchange rate between the Polish and Russian currencies of 1 kopeck = 2 grosze, or 15 kopeck = 1 zloty. The Warsaw mint issued grosz and zloty until 1832, when it began to issue coins denominated in both Polish and Russian currencies. From 1842, the Warsaw mint issued regular type Russian coins along with some coins denominated in both grosz and kopeck. In 1850, the last coins bearing Polish denominations were minted. Between 1835 and 1846, the Republic of Kraków also issued a currency, the Kraków zloty
Currencies of Congress Kingdom Ruble and Mark, 1850-1924
From 1850, the only currency issued for use in Congress Kingdom was the rubel consisting of Russian currency and notes of the Bank Polski. The monetary system of Congress Kingdom was unified with the Russian Empire following the failed January Uprising in 1863. However, the gold coins remained in use until the early 20th century, much like other gold coins of the epoch, most notably gold roubles (dubbed swinka, or piggy) and sovereigns. Following occupation of the Congress Kingdom by Germans during World War I in 1917, the rubel was replaced by the marka (plurals marki and marek), a currency initially equivalent to the German Papiermark.
Second zloty, 1924-1950
Second Republic, 1924-1939
The zloty was reintroduced as Poland's currency by Wladyslaw Grabski in 1924, following the hyperinflation and monetary chaos of the years after World War I. It replaced the marka at a rate of 1 zloty = 1,800,000 marek and was subdivided into 100 groszy. The zloty was pegged at 0.1687 grams pure gold. 1 1939 zloty = 8 2004 zloty.
General Government, 1939-1944
On 15 December 1939, the new Bank Emisyjny was established by the General Government, itself set up by Nazi Germany. In May 1940, old banknotes of 1924-1939 were stamped by the new entity. The money exchange was limited per individual, the limits varied according to the status of the person (Pole, Jew, etc.). The fixed exchange rate 1 Reichsmark = 2 zlote was established. A new issue of notes appeared in 1941. The General Government also issued coins using similar designs to earlier types but with cheaper metals.
Lublin Poland, 1944-1950
New zloty banknotes were introduced after 22 July 1944 by the Narodowy Bank Polski. They circulated until 1950.
Third zloty (PLZ), 1950-1994
In 1950, a new zloty was introduced, replacing all earlier issues at a rate of one hundred to one. The new banknotes were dated 1948, whilst the new coins were dated 1949. From 1 January 1990 it was a convertible currency.
Between 1950 and 1990, a unit known as the zloty dewizowy (which can be roughly translated as the foreign exchange zloty) was used as an artificial currency for calculation purposes only. It existed because at the time the zloty was not convertible and its official rate of exchange was set by the Government, and there existed several exchange rates depending on the purpose of the transaction and who was exchanging, i.e. given amount in zloty could be exchanged for say US dollars at one of several official exchange rates depending on what was to be bought for the hard currency and the company that was buying foreign exchange; it worked similarly when a company had some earnings in Western currency and wanted (or had) to convert them into zlotych. The exchange rate did not depend on the amount being converted. Visitors from countries outside of the Soviet Bloc were offered a particularly poor exchange rate. Concurrently, the private black-market exchange rate contrasted sharply with the official government exchange rate until the end of Communist rule in 1989 when official rates were tied to market rates.
Fourth zloty (PLN), 1995-
The new Polish zloty is the unofficial name of the current currency of Poland, introduced on 1 January 1995 as a result of the redenomination of the old currency. The official name of the Polish currency did not change since the Polish currency law of 1950 (DZ.U nr 50. poz. 459 with later changes), which defines the official currency as the zloty, remains in effect. The redenomination rate was 10 000 old Polish zloty to 1 new Polish zloty. The issuing bank is the Narodowy Bank Polski.
Future
Conditions of the Poland's accession to the European Union (in May 2004) oblige the country to eventually adopt the euro, though not at any specific date and only after Poland would be able to meet the necessary stability criteria. On 10 September 2008, speaking at the launch of an economic forum in a Polish resort of Krynica-Zdrój, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the ruling government's objective to join the Eurozone in 2012, by holding a referendum in 2010 and been approved by the European Central Bank in 2011. However article 227 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland will need to be changed first and they will have to join the ERM 2 before second quarter 2009, this target date is still very aggressive.
Coins
First zloty
In the late eighteenth century, coins were issued in denominations of ?, ½, 1, 3, 6, 7½, 10 and 15 groszy, 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 zlotych. The ? and ½ grosz were denominated as the solidus and poltura, whilst the 7½ and 15 groszy were denominated as 1 and 2 groschen. Coins up to 3 grosz were minted in copper, those between 6 and 15 grosz were billon whilst the denominations from 1 zloty upward were in silver.
The Duchy of Warsaw issued copper 1 and 3 grosze, billon 5 and 10 groszy and silver , ? and 1 talar. After 1816, the Congress Kingdom of Poland issued copper 1 and 3 grosze, billon 5 and 10 groszy, silver 1, 2, 5 and 10 zlotych, and gold 25 and 50 zlotych. During the insurrection of 1831, coins were minted for 3 and 10 groszy, 2 and 5 zlotych.
Between 1832 and 1834, coins denominated in both Polish and Russian currencies were issued, for 1 zloty (15 kopeck), 2 zlote (30 kopeck), 5 zlotych (¾ ruble), 10 zlotych (1½ ruble) and 20 zlotych (3 ruble). These were issued, along with the copper and billon coins, until 1841. In 1842, Russian coins were introduced, supplemented by 40 groszy (20 kopeck) and 50 groszy (25 kopeck) coins. These two coins were issued until 1850.
Second zloty
In 1924, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 groszy, 1 and 2 zlote. The lowest three denominations were first minted in brass, then in bronze. The 10, 20 and 50 groszy were in nickel, with the higher denominations in silver. Gold 10 and 20 zlotych coins were minted in 1925. Silver 5 zlotych coins were introduced in 1928. The size of the silver coins was reduced in 1932, a move accompanied by the introduction of silver 10 zlotych coins.
During the German occupation of World War II, 1, 5, 10 and 20 groszy coins were issued (dated 1923) in zinc and 50 groszy (dated 1938) in nickel plated iron or iron.
Third zloty
In 1950, coins were issued for 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 groszy and 1 zloty. All denominations were minted in aluminium, with the 5 groszy also minted in bronze and the denominations above 5 groszy also minted in cupro-nickel. From 1957, aluminium coins for 5, 10, 20 and 50 groszy and 1 zloty were issued, with aluminium 2 and 5 zlotych introduced in 1958. Cupro-nickel 10 and 20 zlotych followed in 1959 and 1973, respectively. Brass 2 and 5 zlotych were introduced in 1975, reverting to aluminium in 1989. In 1990, 50 and 100 zlotych coins were issued, although they saw little circulation due to the high inflation occurring at that time.
Fourth zloty
Coins were introduced in 1995 (dated from 1990) in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 groszy, 1 (colloquially called zlotówka), 2 and 5 zlotych (colloquially called piatka). The 1, 2, and 5 groszy are minted in brass, and the 10, 20 and 50 groszy and 1 zloty in cupro-nickel, whilst the 2 and 5 zlotych are bimetallic. 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 zlotych coins also exist and are legal tender, but are not in circulation.
Banknotes
First zloty
In 1794, treasury notes were issued in denominations of 5 and 10 groszy, 1, 4, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 zlotych. The Duchy of Warsaw issued notes for 1, 2 and 5 talarów.
In 1824, the Kassowy Krolestwa Polskiego issued notes for 10, 50 and 100 zlotych. The Bank Polski issued notes dated 1830 and 1831 in denominations of 1, 5, 50 and 100 zlotych, whilst assignats for 200 and 500 zlotych were issued during the insurrection of 1831. From 1841, the Bank Polski issued notes denominated in rubel.
Second zloty
In 1924, along with provisional notes (overprints on old, bisected notes) for 1 and 5 groszy, the Ministry of Finance issued notes for 10, 20 and 50 groszy, whilst the Bank Polski introduced 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 zlotych. From 1925, the Ministry of Finance issued 2 and 5 zlotych notes, before they were replaced by silver coins, and the Bank Polski issued 5, 10, 20 and 50 zlotych notes, with 100 zlotych only reintroduced in 1932. In 1936, the Bank Polski issued 2 zlote notes, followed in 1938 by Ministry of Finance notes for 1 zloty.
In 1939, the General Government overprinted 100 zlotych notes for use before, in 1940, the Bank Emisyjny w Polsce was set up and issued notes for 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 zlotych. After liberation, notes (dated 1944) were introduced by the Narodowy Bank Polski for 50 groszy, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 zlotych, with 1000 zlotych notes added in 1945.
Third zloty
In 1950, new notes (dated 1948), were introduced for 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 zlotych. 1000 zlotych notes were added in 1962. 200 and 2000 zlotych notes were added in 1976 and 1977, followed by 5000 zlotych notes in 1982. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw high inflation in Poland and lead to the introduction of notes in denominations of 10,000 (in 1987), 20,000 (1989), 50,000 (1989), 100,000 (1990), 200,000 (1989), 500,000 (1990), 1,000,000 (1991) and 2,000,000 zlotych (1992). These notes (and coins of course) were valid until the end of 1996. Currently they are no longer a legal tender and can be exchanged only at the National Bank of Poland (and some banks obligated to it by the NBP) until December 31, 2010.
Fourth zloty
In 1995, notes (dated 1994) were introduced in denominations of 10 (colloquially called dycha), 20, 50 (two varieties, one of which was issued for collectors), 100 (colloquially called stówa) and 200 zlotych. 10,000 Third zlotych = 1 Fourth "new" zloty.
Oft used notes: 10, 20, 50 and 100 PLN.
Rarely used note: 200 PLN. After years New Polish Zloty (PLN) is fully convertible currency well known by travellers and investors from all the World.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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