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Poland 1940 10 Złotych contemporary counterfeit Pick 94x PMG 55 AU with purple WERTLOS stamp and Zigzag Lines watermark

Poland 1940 - 10 Zlotych Contemporary Counterfeit with WERTLOS Stamp (Pick 94x)

A bold purple 'WERTLOS' (worthless) overprint was applied across the face, likely as an official or resistance-era cancellation after discovery. Printed on correct paper bearing the Zigzag Lines watermark, it exhibits wide left margins typical of sheet-fed counterfeit runs. Read more →

PolandContemporary Counterfeit194010 ZłotychPMG 55 About Uncirculated Poland194010 Zlotych10 ZlotyPick 94xMilczak 94MilczakContemporary CounterfeitCounterfeitWartime CounterfeitWartime ForgeryOccupation IssueOccupation CurrencyBank Emisyjny w PolsceEmission BankGeneral GovernmentGerman OccupationWorld War IIWWIIWartimeResistanceWERTLOSWorthlessZigzag LinesZigzag WatermarkPMG 55About Uncirculated
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Spotlight

Banknote Security and Insider Risks in the Colonial Age

In Australia, where private banks issued their own notes until Federation, similar risks appeared. During the 1870s and 1880s, the Colonial Bank of Australasia and others contracted local printers. One dismissed apprentice in Melbourne tried to sell unfinished £1 notes printed on genuine paper but missing officer signatures. The episode reinforced a crucial point: without authorization, even genuine paper was worthless. When a wave of bank failures and mergers struck in the 1890s, unissued stock sometimes survived liquidation and ended up in private hands. These leftovers — printed, authentic, but unsigned — became what collectors now call remainders. They were not stolen money; they were unused inventory that escaped formal destruction. After the Australian Notes Act of 1910 centralized issuance, such pieces lost monetary status and entered history as artifacts.

Spotlight

The Remainder Problem: Why Unissued Notes Survive

When a bank failed, merged, or simply outlived its charter, thousands of printed notes were supposed to die with it. Yet many survived — pristine, unsigned, and technically worthless. Collectors now call them remainders: the ghosts of money that never circulated. They exist because printers, accountants, and liquidators all found reasons not to destroy them. Each remainder tells a quiet story about the economics of waste, the bureaucracy of closure, and the power of curiosity to outlive value.

Poland 1940 10 Złotych Printing Remnants, forgery workshop underprint, PMG descriptive holder

Poland 1940 - 10 Zlotych Printing Remnants Forgery Workshop Underprint (Miłczak 94)

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.

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