20 Polish marks

The banknote of 20 Polish marks (mkp), issued on 28 August 1919, is an example of a very popular series of Polish paper money from the period of the Second Republic (1918-1939), designed and produced in the Vienna State Printing House and in private state printing houses in Warsaw. The issuer of this money was the Polish National Loan Bank (PKKP), established by the Germans during the occupation in 1916. After Poland regained independence it was taken over and, together with the mkp, adapted by the Polish monetary system. It was assumed that once the economic situation stabilised and the budget was balanced, its functions would soon be taken over by the Bank of Poland. The Polish zloty was then to become the national currency. The temporary nature of the mkp is indicated by the legal clause on them which reads: "The Polish State takes upon itself the responsibility for the exchange of this ticket for the future Polish currency according to the ratio which for the Polish marks shall be adopted by the Legislative Sejm". However, the difficult reality of the young state, forced to undertake the task of defending its endangered existence, rebuilding its economy devastated by the war, and above all overcoming the legacy of the partitions and uniting the lands which had functioned under different economic, social and legal systems of the neighbouring states, meant that PKKP and mkp remained a part of the economic landscape of the Republic until the end of April 1924, when the Bank of Poland was opened and the zloty was issued.

PKKP tickets of 28 August 1919 with values of 1, 5, 10, 20, 100, 500 and 1000 mkp, and of 7 February 1920 with denominations of ½ and 5000 mkp, are united by the characteristic, overloaded style of Viennese Art Nouveau by an unknown employee of an Austrian printing house. The ticket we are interested in was printed on smooth white paper with dark blue and brown colours, in relief printing technique - typography. It was protected against forgery by a watermark in the form of squares with rounded corners.

The 20 mkp coin, together with other denominations of the August issue, was introduced into circulation on 5 December 1919. At that time, "Kurier Warszawski" offered old Tyrolean violins for 2,000, officers' shoes for 450-550 and warm leotard jackets for 325 mkp. The cheapest ad in the afore-mentioned daily cost 4 mkp.

Tomasz Markiewicz