Description and research notes
Fascinating semi-finished product from a wartime forgery workshop, connected with the 10 złotych 1940 issue (Miłczak 94). The piece is printed only with the underprint of the obverse design - background guilloches and the female allegorical portrait at left - without the main face value, overprints, or full intaglio elements. Trimmed to the correct banknote format, it represents an intermediate stage in the counterfeiting process.
The paper is of the same type as the original issue, including watermark, underscoring the sophistication of the operation. Such workshop remnants rarely survive, as they were typically destroyed once full notes were completed or abandoned. This example is preserved in a descriptive PMG holder (labeled 'Printing Remnants'), without an assigned numeric grade. By appearance, it remains close to original emission quality, showing crisp paper and fresh inks with no obvious circulation wear.
A rare artifact of WWII-era note production and forgery practice in occupied Poland, this piece offers a unique look into the methods of counterfeiters. For advanced collections, it provides not just a numismatic specimen, but also tangible evidence of the historical context in which Polish currency circulated under occupation.
