Poland: 2011 Issue Schedule

[chrisild]

This is a list of the commemorative and collector coins that Poland will issue this year. I use a few abbreviations here. The (S) means that a coin is isssued as part of a theme series. In the second line you find the approximate date of issue and the denominations. For example, "Jun - 2, 10, 100" means the issue is scheduled for June 2011 and there will be a 2 zł, a 10 zł and a 100 zł coin.

The compositions are:
2 zł - Nordic Gold (Cu89 Al5 Zn5 Sn1)
5 zł / 10 zł / 20 zł - Silver (Ag 925)
100 zł / 200 zł - Gold (Au 900)

Animals of the World (S): European Badger (Meles meles)
(Jan - 2, 20)

Polish Painters of the 19th and 20th Centuries (S): Zofia Stryjeńska
(Jan - 2, 20)

30th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Independent Students Union
(Mar - 2, 20)

In Memory of the Victims of the 10 April 2010 Presidential Plane Crash in Smolensk
(Apr - 2, 10, 20, 100)

Czesław Miłosz (born 100 years ago)
(May - 2, 10, 200)

Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union
(Jun - 2, 10, 100)

Silesian Uprisings (90 years ago)
(Jul - 2, 10)

Ignacy Jan Paderewski (died 70 years ago)
(Aug - 2, 10, 200)

History of the Polish Cavalry (S): Uhlan of the Second Republic of Poland
(Sep - 2, 10, 200)

Europe without Barriers - 100th Anniversary of the Society for the Protection of the Blind
(Oct - 2, 10)

Polish Travellers and Explorers (S): Ferdynand Ossendowski
(Nov - 2, 10)

Polish Football Clubs (S): Polonia Warszawa
(Nov - 2, 5)

History of Polish Popular Music (S): Grzegorz Ciechowski
(Dec - 2, 2x10)

Cities and Places (S): Gdynia, Łodź, Mława, Poznań (Franciscan Monastery), Kraków (Pauline Monastery on the Rock), Kalisz (Franciscan Monastery)
(throughout the year - 2)

[Figleaf]

That's 19 different "circulation pieces in one year. They'll be so frustrated when the adopt the euro

Peter

[andyg]

That's 19 different "circulation pieces in one year. They'll be so frustrated when the adopt the euro

Peter

As far as I know the Nordic Gold 2 Zloty do not circulate?

[chrisild]

From what I have heard, they circulate but to a very limited extent only. The regular 2 złote cloins are bimetallic pieces with a diameter of 21.5 mm - the commems are Nordic Gold, diameter 27.0 mm. But those special 2 zł coins are available at face, and using them does not really cause any problems or discussions.

I have quite a few of those commemorative 2 złote cloins but would never aim at getting a complete collection. Way too many of them, yes. In case Poland ever introduces the euro, they could of course continue such a series, with some "non-standard" face value though. Hmm, 2 zł currently is 52 ct ... could be difficult.

Christian

[Bimat]

<< Ignacy Jan Paderewski (died 70 years ago)

Silesian Uprisings (90 years ago) >>

Since when numbers like 70 and 90 became so important to commemorate on a coin? Last year France did the same thing (Gaulle's appeal) and now Poland. Usually we celebrate occasions like 50, 75, 100 (and multiples of 25 thereafter ) but why 70 or 90? Doesn't that sound odd?

Other countries doing the same thing I can think of are Kenya (40 years of independence) when they issued a 40 shilling bimetallic and Mauritius (20 years of Bank of Mauritius, coin was denominated 20 Rupees).

Any more examples?

Aditya

[chrisild]

In the issue program for this year they list "Powstania śląskie (temat indywidualny)" and "Ignacy Jan Paderewski (temat indywidualny)", without saying what the occasion is. This "temat indywidualny" means that the issue is not part of a thematic series such as "Animals of the World" but, well, an individual theme. So I guess the 70th and 90th anniversary respectively are the occasions; I may be wrong though ...

With regard to Paderewski, what I found strange is that last year (150th anniversary of his birth) no coin was issued - and now they do it. On the other hand, one of last year's issues was a coin which commemorated Jan Twardowski ... more precisely, the 95th anniversary of his birth. Hmm.

The "Powstania śląskie" (Silesian Uprisings) coins, well, that is a war related topic, and Poland has "always" issued such coins even if the anniversary is not a "round" one. Last year for example there was a coin set that commemorated the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. They will find it more important to commemorate such events than to wait another ten years. Makes sense to me. Besides, many Polish coins (especially the precious metal issues) have gorgeous designs, so who cares about how "round" a jubilee is.

But I think this is not a veeery recent phenomenon. The US for example issued a silver dollar to commemorate 230 years of the Marines in 2005; Germany had circulating 2 DM commems which were about 30 years (1979) and 45 years (1994) of the constitution, and 40 years Deutsche Mark (1988). And while 375 is a multiple of 25, issuing a coin for the 375th anniversary of somebody's birth (Mercator 1969) is not that much better either ...

Christian

[chrisild]

The issue schedule has been modified. There will be more, to be issued in April:

Beatification of John Paul II on 1 May 2011
1000 zł gold (Au 999) diameter 50 mm, weight 93.3 g - volume 500 pieces
100 zł gold (Au 900) diameter 21 mm, weight 8.0 g - volume 8000 pieces

As far as I know, Poland has never issued a 3 oz gold coin before ...

Christian