50 groszy 1923

Today, I discovered a coin from a really fascinating time in our history, i.e., a 50 groszy 1923 coin. This was the time when Poland was finally recovering from decades of partitioning and establishing its economic system from scratch, more or less. This is even reflected in the substance of the coin itself, since it was not produced from silver, as one might reasonably have anticipated, but from nickel, since it was less expensive and more convenient. But the coin design itself is really lovely – on the back, a big 50 groszy denomination in a wreath that merely goes well with the rest, and on the front, a stunning crowned eagle over the legend 'Rzeczpospolita Polska' (Republic of Poland) and the year 1923. The eagle is still fairly stern, but it is just this shape, so plain and quite dense in design, that exactly expresses the atmosphere of those years, when young Poland was struggling to gain its own character and personality. Then this coin was alive, it was worth something, and for 50 groszy you could purchase bread or something similar in order to live through every day, but now, when you hold it in your hands, it feels like it transports you into a totally other world, into everyday life of people a hundred years ago, who also had problems but also amazingly enormous hopes for a better world.

The unusual aspect is that the minting of these coins in 1923 had been linked with an inconvenient time of hyperinflation, when prices were increasing rather rapidly and even fresh groszy coins were depreciating at a fast pace. Moreover, the 1923 50 groszy coin was the last of its type minted in nickel, for after that even more inexpensive materials were being sought after so that coins shouldn't be so expensive to produce. Today, it is one of the most exciting items of the Second Polish Republic for collectors because it really unveils the realities and economic struggle of the new country. Interestingly, its value on the numismatic side is greatly dependent on its appearance – coins like this one, with clear data, are incredibly valuable in an emotional and historical sense, and in its original state fetch very high prices. While holding this coin, one feels the special atmosphere of Poland at the time of the 1920s, when everything just began, when people were hoping that the gained independence would last for centuries and the economy would finally advance. It isn't a clump of metal – it is something symbolic of coarse beginnings and determination in order to make something out of oneself, though the journey was truly rocky.