Description and research notes
This 1994 Poland 50 Zlotych issued note, serial CH9769411, belongs to the London-printed portion of the first redenominated banknote series of the Third Polish Republic. It is cataloged as Milczak 198A and Pick 175a and was produced by Thomas De La Rue in London for Narodowy Bank Polski.
Its principal significance lies in the CH prefix. Within the 1994 series, the 50 Zlotych is the only denomination whose London-printed serial sequence advanced into the C-prefix range. The London runs of the 10 Zlotych, 20 Zlotych, 100 Zlotych, and 200 Zlotych ended within the A or B ranges, while later domestic production by PWPW in Warsaw began with D prefixes. The partial C-prefix sequence therefore forms a distinct production interval found only on the London-printed 50 Zlotych.
See the full prefix distribution table for the denomination-by-denomination breakdown.
The surviving prefix distribution suggests that the difference was driven by production volume rather than a separate numbering policy. The 200 Zlotych London run ended at AR, the 100 Zlotych at BQ, the 20 Zlotych at BF, and the 10 Zlotych progressed as far as BZ before stopping, while only the 50 Zlotych continued into the C range, reaching CJ before London production concluded. Warsaw printing then resumed with D prefixes for every denomination. Although no surviving production records are presently known to explain the allocation, the prefix sequence is consistent with the 50 Zlotych requiring the largest London print run.
Unlike proofs, specimens, or other prepared archival material, this is a regular circulation issue whose significance depends on production sequence, printer attribution, and survival. Most C-prefix notes entered circulation without attracting attention, making surviving high-grade examples uncommon and preserving a small but important part of the production history of the 1994 series.
The design depicts King Kazimierz III Wielki and combines historical portraiture with the security-printing language of the first modern zloty series, including dense guilloche work, microtext, ornamental denomination panels, and a portrait watermark. Introduced following the redenomination of 1 January 1995 at a rate of 10,000 old zlotych to 1 new zloty, the series established the visual identity of modern Polish currency.
This example is significant not because it differs in design from other issued 50 Zlotych notes, but because its CH prefix preserves the only London-printed C-prefix interval within the 1994 denomination series. It represents a small but distinct production-sequence rarity embedded within an otherwise ordinary circulation issue.