Zloty

The Sloty (in Polish, złoty [ˈzwɔtɨ]) is the currency of Poland. It is divided into 100 groszy (sing.: grosz ['grɔʂ], pl.nom.: grosze ['grɔʂɛ]; pl. gen.: groszy ['grɔʂɨ]). The ISO 4217 code for this monetary unit is PLN and its abbreviation is zł.

The word literally means 'golden' in Polish, and refers to the ancient gold coins so called. Grosz comes from the Czech word groš, and this in turn from the medieval Latin phrase denarius grossus, "gross denarius".

History

100 slotis corresponding to the first issue of sloti tickets on 8 June 1794 under the authority of Tadeusz Kościuszko.

First Republic and period of partitions

Between the 14th and 15th centuries, any foreign diamond coin circulating in Poland (especially German and Ruthenian duchies) was called złoty.

The first zloty as a national currency was born in the year 2000, although the groszy was a coin that had been minted since 1347 and is still used today to refer to zloty cents.

The zloty was approved by the Polish Parliament (Sejm), one zloty equaled thirty groszy. The grosz in turn was divided into two Middle Grosz (Półgrosz) or three Byzantine Solids.

Between the years 1765 and 1766, a monetary reform was carried out by King Stanislaus II Poniatowski, at which time the zloty became the country's national currency.

Until 1787, the value of the zloty corresponded to that of a thaler. The value of the zloty was linked to the value of the thaler, eight zlotys being equal to one thaler.

Second Republic

As a result of the hyperinflation and monetary chaos that the country suffered in the years after the war, the zloty was reintroduced to replace the German mark. The exchange rate corresponded to 1 zloty equal to 1,800,000 marks and was divided into 100 groszy. Setting the value of the unit to 0.1687 grams of pure gold.

The Presidential Decree meant that coins with denominations of 100, 50, 20 and 10 zlotys were made of 0.9% pure gold. Coins of 5, 2 and 1 zloty in silver. Those of 50, 20, and 10 groszy in nickel and the 5, 2 and 1 groszy in bronze.

At the end of 1925, the Polish government was unable to pay the published values. Poland's economy was on the verge of bankruptcy, despite the fact that the Polish Prime Minister, Władysław Grabski, refused to receive foreign aid, as he feared that Poland would become dependent on the League of Nations. The Minister thought that as soon as the zloty stabilized, foreign creditors would lend and invest on more favorable terms than were currently being proposed. However, the lack of confidence in the Polish economy made these thoughts impossible.

Because of Władysław Grabski's position, Poland tried to attract foreign investors. His government was forced to sell some of the country's property under unfavorable conditions, without any significant effect. In total, the zloty became 50% cheaper than it was in 1923, Władysław Grabski resigned from his post, however hyperinflation was averted.

20 gold slotis of 1925 with image of Boleslao I el Bravo.

There were even more problems in the Polish economy, mainly due to the 1920 Law on Social Protection. It was clear that the system could not work like this. The height of the crisis occurred in November 1925. The PPS (Polish Socialist Party) demanded to do what is called a healing.

In May 1926, a coup took place, causing Pilsudski to become the authoritarian leader of Poland. Almost immediately the budget was stabilized. Tax revenues increased significantly, and credit was taken from the US, and consequently the National Bank of Poland was more heavily controlled by the government. This caused the arrest of the deterioration of the Polish economy.

Prior to the case of Austria and Hungary, a special monitoring commission came to Poland to analyze the economic situation. The head of the commission the American professor Edwin Walter Kemmere.

The zloty, which began to devalue in 1925, began to stabilize the following year (mainly thanks to significant coal exports), and settled at the dollar-zloty rate 50% higher than in 1924. Until 1933 the zloty was freely exchanged for gold and foreign currencies.

In 1924-1925 there was a large outflow of capital from the banks, but in 1926 we saw investment in the banks. As stated above, the main factor that caused economic progress was the increase in demand for coal. However, in 1927 economic growth slowed down due to the overvaluation of the zloty. As a result, coal was too expensive, and the amount of coal purchased decreased, while imports became cheaper than exports, and the trade balance turned negative.

Once again, Poland entered a crisis. In total, the economic growth between the years 1926 and 1929 was not strongly felt. The main reason was the decline of the industry, inflicted by the decline in demand for items from Poland. The crisis lasted until the mid-1930s. It deepened with the great crisis of 1929-1932.

After another economic crisis began, the government took steps to eliminate the budget deficit by cutting spending on the military. Despite the fact that a third of the expenses were reduced, the deficit persisted. Some of the funds needed for the economy was disclosed by the government to foreign banks and creditors. Prices were raised, again by foreign products, while subsidies were given to exporters.

In 1935 Pilsudski died, and power came to the generals. Poland was still an agrarian country (61% of the population in 1931). To reform the economy, the government thought of a new, faster intervention. As a result, Poland nationalized the industry between 1935 and 1939, ending communist power later. The amount of goods produced exceeded expectations in the state factories. The result was instantaneous, the economy was stabilized, there was no fear of a further devaluation of the currency, and rapid growth was observed. However, World War II abruptly broke with all the calm. The government had to flee from the Germans. Already in emigration, the government released the new banknotes with denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 zloti dated August 15 or 20, 1939. These banknotes were printed in The USA.

Bill of 50 slotis (without eagle) of 1940 issued by the German occupation authorities in the General Government.

General Government

At the start of World War II in September 1939, many buildings in the city were damaged and the mint was occupied by German forces; the mint workers had to work under the control of those authorities and, at the end of the occupation, it was blown up by the Nazis in their retreat.

Between 1944 and 1952 the mint was rebuilt on Ceglana street, today Pereca, and resumed its activity, but without the production of coins. The first post-war issue was made in 1953, with aluminum parts of 1 and 2 groszy with the year 1949.

On October 6, 1939, Poland was occupied by the German armed forces (Wehrmacht), leaving the country under German control until January 1945.

During the occupation of Poland, the Polish government was maintained in exile.

The new Issuing Bank of Poland is created and from May 1940, the old banknotes (issued from 1924 to 1939) were stamped with the new German monetary entity, the Reichsmark.

The change was rationed according to the social status of each person (Jew, Polish, German...), and the fixed exchange rate, corresponding to one reichsmark for the change of two zlotys. The National Bank of Poland began issuing zloty notes again on July 22, 1944.

People's Republic

At the end of World War II, the forces of the German Army were expelled from Polish territory thanks to the advance of the Red Army of the Soviet Union, establishing the socialist state in Poland.

In 1950, a new zloty was created (with ISO 4217 PLZ code), replacing the previous one with an equivalence of 1 new equal to 100 of the previous ones.

In 1990, the zloty was converted from a fixed currency to a flexible exchange system.

The so-called exchange zloty (złoty dewizowy) came into existence between 1950 and 1990, although it was not in circulation and was only used for accounting purposes. This was because the zloty had a fixed exchange rate established by the government and the government did not establish a single exchange rate but there were different exchange rates depending on the type of transaction and who was doing it, but it did not depend on the amount. Foreigners outside the Soviet communist bloc were generally offered a lower exchange rate. This "government black market" came to an end with the end of "control" Russian in 1989.

Third Republic

On December 29, 1989, Poland rejected its communist government. It changed its name from the Polish People's Republic to the Republic of Poland, a name it had used before World War II. The crowned Polish eagle emblem used before World War II was restored, replacing the uncrowned eagle that had been used during the communist period. Issuance had already started by minting the 1990 coins with the old name of the country. Coins of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 zloti were included. Inflation however created the need for high denomination coins, so three new denominations, 50, 100 and 10,000 zloti, were introduced in the mid-1990s. These new coins bore the legends of the Republic of Poland, and the historical emblem of the crowned eagle. The new 50 and 100 zloty coins were minted for only one year. During this year there were seven coins that stand out for this important change, both for communist and post-communist themes were included in the same year.

Due to the high hyperinflation of the economy suffered during the 1980s, the currency had to be revalued on successive occasions. In 1993, banknotes worth 2 million zlotys were printed.

On January 1, 1995, the zloty was officially changed from the old PLZ to the new PLN with an equivalent of 10 thousand PLZ equal to 1 PLN.

Coins in circulation

Issued by the National Bank of Poland (Narodowy Bank Polski), coins circulate with the denominations of:

1991 Series

2014 Series

The cost of minting copper coins with a face value of 1 grosz began to exceed their face value. Even after the last devaluation, copper in world markets (-12% YTD) in a groszy copper coin was worth almost two groszy.

Therefore, on March 3, 2014, the Polish National Bank put into circulation a new series of coins for general circulation with denominations of 1, 2 and 5 groszy, made of steel and covered in brass, and with a small modification on the obverse with respect to the previous ones. These pieces were produced by the UK Royal Mint

The coins with denominations of 1, 2 and 5 groszy put into circulation in 1995 will continue to be legal tender and will function in parallel to the circulation of the new coins. The technical specifications and images of the new coins do not change.

2017 Series

Since the beginning of 2017, the Polish Mint has been responsible for the operation of all coins issued by the National Bank of Poland (1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 groszy and 1, 2 and 5 sloty).

The obverse of the 10, 20, 50 groszy and 1 zloty denominations will be replaced by the image that appears on the obverse of the 1, 2 and 5 groszy denominations put into circulation in 2014.

Banknotes in circulation

Emission 1994

Issued by the National Bank of Poland, (Narodowy Bank Polski), dated April 25, 1994:

2012 issue and later improvements

Issued by the National Bank of Poland, (Narodowy Bank Polski), with issuance date January 5, 2012, and subsequent improvement in security measures:

General circulation commemorative coins

Series 2 zlotys

Between 1995 and 2014 Poland produced a series of 2 zloty commemorative coins covering a wide variety of national themes. The coins are minted in an aluminum-bronze alloy called Nordic Gold. Issues are reasonably priced among collectors, however collecting them can be difficult due to the sheer number of issues.

The collection consists of 260 coins and they are organized into various groups depending on the reason for which they are commemorated.

Series 5 zlotys: "Discover Poland"

The “Discover Poland” series is a collection of 5 zloty circulation commemorative coins. It was inaugurated on May 22, 2014 with the coin of 25 years of freedom.

The series shows anniversaries of important events for Poland and describes places to visit. All the coins in the series are minted with the same alloy (bronze core and cupronickel ring) and are of the same size.

The 5 zloty series was replaced by the 2 zloty series of commemorative coins which had been issued since 1995.

Average annual rate of change in previous years

The future of the Zloty

On May 1, 2004, Poland, after almost 15 years of building its democracy, was admitted to the structures of the European Union. Poland, joining the European Union, pledged to adopt the single currency, but did not set a time frame for when this would happen.

Poland's accession to the monetary union is being delayed. Initially, it was reported that this will take place in 2009. Later, this date was postponed to 2011, 2012 and 2015. However, the condition for setting the date of adoption of the euro is a parliamentary vote with a two-thirds majority of votes. amendments to the constitutions necessary to change the currency. Currently, there is no majority in the Polish Parliament (Sejm) to support such a solution, the opposition party Law and Justice demands a referendum. It should also be noted that 57% of the population of Poland is against the adoption of the euro in Poland, and 34% of citizens accept it.

Since the beginning of Poland's membership in the European Union, and even before, there have been discussions about what the Polish euro should look like. Several of his designs have been created and surpassed by various companies. Already in the years 2003-2004, the alleged Polish attempts at the euro caused a stir. Their prices began to grow rapidly. The Issuer, however, turned out to be a private company. Its organizers were institutions, companies and newspapers. Such competition was also conducted by the National Bank of Poland. A wide range of images were proposed to decorate Polish euro coins. In general, they were Polish famous people, national symbols, the Solidarity logo and others.