Collection

1994.pl

Four Known Types of 1994 Polish Specimens

The 1994 Polish specimen series documents every stage of the Thomas De La Rue production process for the National Bank of Poland—from final approval to official distribution and archival retention. Each version was printed from the same live plates and carries the same prefix and numbering format, allowing the entire chain to be reconstructed for the first time.

Production began with the unmarked Wzór akceptacyjny bez nadruków (here referenced as barebone / Wc^*)—a complete, fully signed approval print without overprint, stamp, or perforation. Once accepted, two marked forms followed: the Polish Wzór z nadrukiem WZÓR (Wa) prepared by PWPW for domestic reference, and the London De La Rue Specimen with red SPECIMEN overprint and red NO VALUE stamp (Wb) printed for international distribution. A final archival group was perforated SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE (Wd) as permanently cancelled reference copies.

1994 Poland 100 Złoty AA Prefix — Approval Specimen (Wzór akceptacyjny bez nadruków, barebone — unmarked front) — **Approval** (barebone / Wc)
Unmarked approval print — no overprint, stamp, or perforation

1994 Poland 100 Złoty AA Prefix — Polish Overprint Specimen (Wzór z nadrukiem WZÓR in red on front, PWPW domestic issue) — **Overprint WZÓR** (Wa)
Red WZÓR overprint on front — Polish domestic issue (PWPW)

1994 Poland 100 Złoty AA Prefix — London De La Rue Specimen (red SPECIMEN overprint and red NO VALUE stamp on front, international issue) — **Red Overprint** (Wb)
Red SPECIMEN overprint and red NO VALUE stamp — London De La Rue issue

1994 Poland 100 Złoty AA Prefix — Perforated Specimen (SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE perforation on front, archival copy) — **Perforated** (Wd)
SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE perforation — archival copy

The AA prefix (100 zł) forms the core of the 1994 specimen record, showing the complete four-type sequence. Miłczak’s 2023 catalog lists the first three of these forms but omits the perforated SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE type. That final stage begins the expansion beyond the printed record and opens the path to what follows.

Additional prefixes confirm that De La Rue and PWPW repeated the same production cycle beyond the initial AA run. The AP prefix examples presented below are drawn from the same 100 zł denomination and demonstrate how the identical approval–distribution–archive pattern continued through subsequent batches.

1994 Poland 100 Złoty AP Prefix — Approval Specimen (Wzór akceptacyjny bez nadruków, barebone — unmarked front) — **Approval** (barebone / Wc)
AP prefix — unmarked approval print without overprint or perforation

1994 Poland 100 Złoty AP Prefix — London De La Rue Specimen (red SPECIMEN overprint and red NO VALUE stamp on front, international issue) — **Red Overprint** (Wb)
AP prefix — red SPECIMEN overprint and red NO VALUE stamp (London De La Rue)

1994 Poland 100 Złoty AP Prefix — Perforated Specimen (SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE perforation on front, archival copy) — **Perforated** (Wd)
AP prefix — SPECIMEN OF NO VALUE perforation, archival record

The AP prefix examples serve as one representative extension of the 1994 production chain. Their presence confirms that De La Rue applied the same four-type workflow across multiple prefixes and denominations. Other prefixes such as AF, AR, BQ, BS and several additional runs display the same pattern of approval, red overprint, and perforation. None of these have appeared in printed references to date; they are recorded here directly from surviving production material held and documented by 1994.pl.

Together, the AA and AP examples complete the view of the 1994 issue as a unified project — one that bridged Polish domestic production with De La Rue’s international specimen standards. This record does not challenge earlier publications; it expands them, grounding the printed framework in firsthand evidence.

Prefixes Recorded

All known specimen prefixes identified from surviving De La Rue material documented by 1994.pl:
AA · AC · AF · AP · AR · AS · AX · AY · BB · BE · BK · BQ · BS

^*barebone — shorthand introduced by 1994.pl for the unmarked approval print (Wzór akceptacyjny bez nadruków), the first stage in the 1994 specimen sequence. Term origin: 1994.pl (2025).

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