| New collector’s banknote | |
| (21-08-2015) |
The latest work of the Polish Security Printing Works is a PLN 20 banknote featuring the image of Jan Długosz. It will soon be made available to collectors. For the first time in Polish history, a banknote created on laser engraving paper with a QR code made using this technology will actually come into circulation. The banknote has been ordered by the National Bank of Poland to commemorate the 600th anniversary of Jan Długosz’s birthday which is celebrated this year. It will be available for sale on 24 August.
It is the first banknote in Poland and one of the few in the world to have some elements and security features executed with the use of a laser. The special banknote paper which permits laser engraving has been designed and patented by the Polish Security Printing Works.
The two-dimensional QR code is a brand new concept; it has been engraved with a laser on the obverse of the banknote. A banknote owner who scans the code with a special app will be transferred to a website devoted to the banknote. There, he will have the opportunity to learn about its security features and the biography of Jan Długosz as well as see what the production of banknotes featuring Długosz's image looked like.
The banknote with the image of Jan Długosz has been designed by Andrzej Heidrich. Its circulation amounts to 30,000 pieces and its issue price is PLN 72. The banknote will be sold at regional NBP branches and at the online “Kolekcjoner” store ( www.kolekcjoner.nbp.pl).
The banknote with Jan Długosz is already the seventh Polish collector’s banknote to be produced by the Polish Security Printing Works. The first one (“John Paul II”) was issued by the National Bank of Poland in 2006. Subsequent banknotes commemorated:
- 90th anniversary of regaining independence: issued on 30 October 2008;
- 200th anniversary of Juliusz Słowacki’s birthday: issued on 23 September 2009;
- 200th anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin’s birthday: issued on 22 February 2010;
- 100th anniversary of Maria Skłodowska-Curie winning the Noble Prize in chemistry: issued on 25 November 2011;
- 100th anniversary of founding Polish Legions: issued on 5 August 2014.
The collector’s banknote commemorating the anniversary of founding the Polish Legions, featuring the image of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, was printed on a polymer substrate. It won two prestigious awards; at the international Currency Conference in Vancouver it was proclaimed the best collector’s banknote in the world and received the prestigious “Banknote of the Year Award”. The latter distinction was awarded during the High Security Printing conference held in Budapest on 23-25 March 2015.
