“The Domestic Copper Grosz of King Stanisław August”

Narodowy Bank Polski has announced that silver collector coins of the series “History of Polish Coin” – “The Domestic Copper Grosz of King Stanisław August” will be available on sale as of tomorrow.

The coin with a face value of 20 złoty is made of 925 purity silver, has a diameter of 38.61 millimetres and weighs 28.28 grams. It has been minted in up to 10,000 pieces.

The coins are sold at all the NBP regional branches and in the NBP online shop Kolekcjoner at the price of PLN 380.

The obverse of the new collector coin features two circles positioned side by side. The circle on the left contains the image of the Eagle established as the state emblem of the Republic of Poland, the inscription RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA (Republic of Poland), the year of issue: 2024 and the face value of 20 ZŁ. The circle on the right reproduces the reverse of the grosz coin of Stanisław August with the five-field escutcheon. The medal by Jan Filip Holzhäusser with a representation of Juno Moneta, struck in 1766/1767 to commemorate the monetary reform and the opening of the new mint in Warsaw, was used as the background.

The main element of the reverse of the new coin is the obverse of the coin of Stanisław August with his monogram and the date 1786. In the background, situated on the left, there is the king’s supralibros with a five-field escutcheon. It is a complete analogy of the escutcheon from the 1 grosz coin. The whole is completed with an inscription along the rim: GROSZ Z MIEDZI KRAJOWEJ STANISŁAWA AUGUSTA (The Domestic Copper Grosz of King Stanisław August).

The monetary chaos that remained after the reign of the Saxon Wettin dynasty in Poland was brought under control by King Stanisław August at the very beginning of his reign (1764-1795). The king not only pursued an effective monetary policy, but also personally took care of the quality and appearance of the coins. What is more, when the mint initially ran at a loss, he covered the deficit from his own coffers. A new monetary system was introduced in 1766 by a universal decree of the Crown Treasury Commission. Ducats, thalers and their fractions were minted, as well as the most common copper coins: the trojak, the grosz, the half-grosz and the schilling. Some of them also bore an inscription in Polish, which provided information about the name of the coin and the origin of the domestic ore, extracted in the mines near Kielce at that time.

Coins were initially struck in Krakow and later only at the newly established mint in Warsaw. It is that mint that the copper coin with a face value of one grosz comes from. The front face, i.e. the obverse, bears the royal monogram composed of the letters SAR (Stanislaus Augustus Rex) under the crown. It separates the date of issue: 17 – 86. On the back face, or the reverse, under the crown is a five-field escutcheon with the state emblems of Poland and Lithuania and the Ciołek coat of arms of the Poniatowski family in the centre. At the bottom, there are the letters E.B. representing the Warsaw minter Efraim Brenna, and along the rim, the inscription: GROSZ Z MIEDZI KRAIOWEY (The Domestic Copper Grosz).

More information can be found in the brochure.

NBP collector coins and banknotes are sold in commercial packaging with an attached certificate.

The next issue is scheduled on 21 August 2024. On that date Narodowy Bank Polski will put into circulation a collector note “In Memory of Warsaw Pawiak Prison Inmates”, with a face value of 10 złoty.

Contact:

Contact for collectors: e-mail kolekcjoner@nbp.pl, tel. +48 22 185 17 05

Contact for the media: e-mail press@nbp.pl, tel. +48 22 185 2012

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About NBP

Narodowy Bank Polski holds the exclusive right to issue banknotes and coins in Poland. All currency issued by NBP, including collector banknotes and coins, is legal tender in Poland. Issuing collector items is an occasion to commemorate historic figures and anniversaries as well as to develop the interest of the public in Polish culture, science and tradition. High-resolution images of the coins: https://nbp.pl/en/coins-and-banknotes/collector-coins/catalogue/