Around the World with Spink UK
Spink UK’s World Banknotes auction featured rare 1939 Bank Polski specimens—historic zlotych notes created as Nazi forces invaded Poland.
Spink UK took bank note collectors around the world at its “World Banknotes” online auction on April 10, 2025. The auction showcased a diverse selection of over 800 notes from the nineteenth century to the contemporary era.
Among the show's standouts was a collection of Bank Polski specimen notes from 1939. All three notes, 50, 100, and 500 zlotychs, were won each with £8,000 bids. All previously mounted, incredible, and rare, the 50 zlotychs is in a PMG holder 64 Choice Uncirculated, the 100 zlotychs is in a PMG holder 63 Choice Uncirculated, and the 500 zlotychs is in a PMG holder 58 Choice About Uncirculated.
When these notes were created in 1939, Nazi Germany had invaded the country, and the Polish government was forced to flee, first to France and then to London in 1940. As the Polish government-in-exile, the administration printed quasi-commemorative bank notes to strengthen Polish identity, with the hopes of it becoming legal tender upon return.
According to Spink, these notes presented at auction were designed and printed by Bank Polski shortly before the Nazi invasion and include the text "Banknotes of Bank Polski are legal tender in Poland."
“The banknotes from 1939 remain a historical artifact, reflecting the resilience of a nation determined to preserve its identity in the face of overwhelming adversity,” Spink UK explains in the bank notes’ catalog listings. “Today, they offer a glimpse into a turbulent chapter of Polish history.”
To learn more about these zlotychs and the auction, go to live.spink.com.
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