About 1994.pl

1994.pl was built as a working archive — a place to see real material, not just read about it. Every piece shown here comes directly from a private collection assembled item by item, examined under light, photographed carefully, and documented with attention to printing method, administrative purpose, and historical context.

What began in 2024 as a focused study of Poland’s 1994 specimen series has grown into a broader research project: trial prints, perforated issues, overprints, and acceptance proofs produced by Thomas De La Rue in London and PWPW in Warsaw — a complete view of how the post-redenomination złoty was designed, tested, secured, and released.

Over time the archive expanded outward. Today it includes early treasury notes, private-bank issues, fiscal paper, and state documents from Uruguay, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and other regions. Recently, a new section was added for Egypt, Greece, and the Middle East — original consular documents, Red Crescent materials, Melkite and Coptic Patriarchal correspondence, and administrative papers rarely preserved outside institutional archives. These items show how currency, government, and ecclesiastical offices recorded authority on paper and how those systems evolved across the 19th and 20th centuries.

Each record is written to teach: the purpose of the document, why it was produced, who issued it, and what it reveals about printing practice, bureaucracy, or monetary history. The goal is not volume, but clarity — every description is built from physical inspection, not repetition.

The site is divided simply: Collection holds the permanent reference material; Marketplace lists items occasionally released for sale or trade. Everything else — including this page — exists to document the work directly and without filler.

All descriptions and photographs are original work unless noted otherwise. Reuse is welcome with fair credit, with details on the Image Licensing page. Questions, corrections, or new information are always appreciated at info@1994.pl.