Description and research notes
This AR-prefix specimen is a fully printed 50 zlotych banknote from Poland’s 1994 series, permanently cancelled by a large perforated inscription reading “SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE” across the portrait of King Casimir III the Great. The perforation represents a terminal archival control form prepared by Thomas De La Rue and retained for internal documentation and security reference.
The banknote preserves the complete production design corresponding to the issued currency, including serial number AR0000000 and the official signatures of the National Bank of Poland. Handwritten archival notation dated “30.4.96”, accompanying initials along the lower margin, and a pencil control code at the upper edge are direct, observable traces of De La Rue’s internal filing and record-keeping practices during the mid-1990s.
The perforated cancellation served as a permanent and irreversible method of invalidation, ensuring that the specimen could not re-enter monetary circulation while remaining fully legible as a reference object. The underlying intaglio printing in blue-green and indigo tones, Andrzej Heidrich’s final artwork, and the multitone watermark portrait remain intact and clearly visible.
A perforated specimen of the 1994 50 zlotych issue is not recorded in the Miłczak catalog, including its 2023 edition, nor in the Pick Standard Catalog. The present AR-prefix example documents a perforated control form of this denomination that has not been previously described in published reference literature.