The złoty (alternative spelling: ''zloty'';
Polish: ''polski złoty'', ;
[The nominative plural, used for numbers ending in 2, 3 and 4 (except those in 12, 13 and 14), is ; the genitive plural, used for all other numbers, is ] abbreviation: zł;
code
In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communicati ...
: PLN
[Prior to 1995, code PLZ was used instead.]) is the official
currency
A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...
and
legal tender of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. It is subdivided into 100 ''
groszy'' (''gr'').
[Singular: ''grosz'', alternative plural forms: ''groszy'', ''grosze''.] It is the most-traded currency in
Central and Eastern Europe and ranks 21st most-traded in the
foreign exchange market
The foreign exchange market (forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. By trading volume, ...
.
The word ''złoty'' is a masculine form of the Polish adjective 'golden', which closely relates with its name to the
guilder, whereas the grosz subunit is based on the
groschen, cognate to the English word
groat. It was officially introduced to replace its interim predecessor, the
Polish marka, on 28 February 1919 and began circulation in 1924. The only bodies permitted to manufacture or mint złoty coins and banknotes are the Polska Wytwórnia Papierów Wartościowych (PWPW), founded in
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
on 25 January 1919, and
Mennica Polska, founded in Warsaw on 10 February 1766.
As a result of inflation in the early 1990s, the currency underwent
redenomination. Thus, on 1 January 1995, 10,000 old złoty (PLZ) became one new złoty (PLN). As a member of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, Poland is obligated to adopt the
euro
The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
when all specific conditions are met; however, there is no time limit for fulfilling all of them.
Currently, Poland is not in the
European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II).
Name and plural forms
The term "" is an
adjective
An adjective (abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that describes or defines a noun or noun phrase. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives are considered one of the main part of speech, parts of ...
derived from the
noun
In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...
"", which in the
Polish language
Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...
denotes
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
. A
literal translation
Literal translation, direct translation, or word-for-word translation is the translation of a text done by translating each word separately without analysing how the words are used together in a phrase or sentence.
In translation theory, anoth ...
of the currency's name would be "golden" or "the golden one". There are two
plural
In many languages, a plural (sometimes list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated as pl., pl, , or ), is one of the values of the grammatical number, grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than ...
forms – as well as , and their correct usage is as follows:
* 1 – or /
* 2...4; 22...24; 32...34 (...), 102...104, 122...124, 132...134, (...) – or /
* 0, 5...21; 25...31; 35...41 (...); 95...101; 105...121; 125...131; (...) – or /
Fraction
A fraction (from , "broken") represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, a fraction describes how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, eight-fifths, thre ...
s should be rendered with and , for example 0.1 ; 2.5 and so on.
Native English speakers or English-language sources tend to avoid the complexity of plural forms and in turn use "złoty" for all denominations, for instance 2 złoty and 100 złoty instead of 2 złote and 100 złotych.
Symbol
The official
currency symbol is zł, composed of lowercase
z and
ł which are the two first letters of "złoty". It has no representation in the
Unicode Standard as a single sign, but previously had representation in Polish typewriters and computers. The symbol of the "grosz" subunit is represented by lowercase gr.
History
First złoty
The first form of tangible currency in Poland was the
denarius
The ''denarius'' (; : ''dēnāriī'', ) was the standard Ancient Rome, Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the ''antoninianus''. It cont ...
(''denar''), which began circulating in the 10th century. During this period, Polish coinage had a single
face value and was minted from
bullion (primarily silver, but also compounded with copper and other precious metals). The standard unit of
mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
used at the time was the
grzywna rather than the
pound, with one grzywna being equivalent to 240 denars. From the 1300s to the mid-16th century, the
Prague groschen (or groat) dominated the market and its high supply reduced the demand for a national currency across
Central Europe
Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
. Certain cities and autonomous regions of the Polish Kingdom held the privilege of minting their own currency, for instance the
shilling (''szeląg'') in the
Duchy of Prussia, which Poland co-adopted in 1526.
Initially, the term "złoty" () was used in the 14th and 15th centuries for a number of
foreign gold coins, most notably
Venetian ducats,
florins and
guldens. In 1496, the
Sejm parliament debated on the creation of a domestic currency and approved the złoty, which until then acted as a
unit of account
In economics, unit of account is one of the functions of money. A unit of account is a standard numerical monetary unit of measurement of the market value of goods, services, and other transactions. Also known as a "measure" or "standard" of ...
. An exchange rate of 30 grosz was imposed for one gold piece, which remained the traditional subdivision until the 19th century. In the years 1526–1535, as part of an extensive monetary reform proposed by
Nicolaus Copernicus and
Justus Decius, King
Sigismund I defined the złoty as a legal tender in the minting ordinance on 16 February 1528.
The Polish monetary system remained complex and intricate from the 16th to 18th centuries until a
monetary reform
Monetary reform is any movement or theory that proposes a system of supplying money and financing the economy that is different from the current system.
Monetary reformers may advocate any of the following, among other proposals:
* A return to ...
enacted by
Stanisław II Augustus which removed all other monetary units except the złoty, which was divided into 30 groszy. Polish currency was then linked to that of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
by setting the
Conventionsthaler = 8 złoty = 23.3856 g fine silver and the
North German thaler = 6 złoty = 17.5392 g silver (hence 2.9232 g silver in a złoty).
Radical changes to the currency were made during the
Kościuszko Uprising. The
second partition of the vast
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
resulted in the loss of approximately 200,000 square kilometres of land and precipitated an economic collapse. The widespread shortage of funds to finance the defense of remaining territories forced the insurrectionist government to look for alternatives. In June 1794,
Tadeusz Kościuszko
Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...
began printing paper money and issuing first Polish
banknotes as a substitute for coinage, which could not be minted in required quantities. These entered circulation on 13 August 1794.
The złoty remained in circulation after the
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...
and
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...
issued coins denominated in grosz, złoty and talars, with the ''talar'' (thaler) of 6 złoty slightly reduced in value to the
Prussian thaler of 16.704 g fine silver (hence 2.784 g silver in a złoty). Talar banknotes were also issued. In 1813, while
Zamość
Zamość (; ; ) is a historical city in southeastern Poland. It is situated in the southern part of Lublin Voivodeship, about from Lublin, from Warsaw. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021.
Zamość was founded in 1580 by Jan Zamoyski ...
was under siege, the town authorities issued 6 grosz and 2 złoty coins. Following the 1815
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
, Austrian and Russian sectors of partitioned Poland continued to use the złoty for some time, while the
German sector replaced the ''talar'' and ''złoty'' with the
Prussian thaler and later, the
German gold mark.
On 19 November O.S. (1 December N.S.) 1815, the law regarding the monetary system of Congress Poland (in Russia) was passed, which pegged the złoty at 15 kopecks (0.15 Imperial
roubles, or almost 2.7 g fine silver) and the groszy at kopeck, and with silver 1, 2, 5 and 10 złotych coins issued from 1816 to 1855.
At the time of the 1830
November Uprising
The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution,
was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...
, the insurrectionists issued their own "rebel money" – golden ducats and silver coins in the denomination of 2 and 5 złoty, with the revolutionary coat of arms, and the copper 3 and 10 grosz. These coins continued to be traded long after the uprising was quelled. As a consequence of the uprising, the rubel became the sole legal tender of
Congress Poland from 1842, although coins marked as złoty in parallel with ruble were minted in Warsaw until 1865 and remained legal until 1890. In 1892, the
Austro-Hungarian krone was introduced in
Austrian Galicia. Between 1835 and 1846, the
Free City of Kraków also used its own independent currency, the
Kraków złoty (minted in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
), which remained legal until 1857.
During
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the rouble and krone were replaced by the
Polish marka, a currency initially equivalent to the
German mark. The marka remained in use after Poland regained its independence in 1918, but was extremely unstable, disrupted the whole
economy
An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
, and triggered
galloping inflation.
Second złoty
The złoty was reintroduced by the
Minister of Finance,
Władysław Grabski
Władysław Dominik Grabski (; 7 July 1874 – 1 March 1938) was a Polish National Democratic politician, economist and historian. He was the main author of the currency reform in the Second Polish Republic and served as Prime Minister of Pola ...
, in April 1924. It replaced the marka at a rate of 1 złoty to 1,800,000 marks and was subdivided into 100 grosz rather than the traditional 30 grosz.
Following its inauguration, the second złoty was pegged to the
United States dollar
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
through a stabilization loan provided by the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The budget deficit ballooned and out-of-control inflation ensued. The złoty began to stabilise in 1926 (chiefly due to significant exports of coal), and was re-set on the dollar-złoty rate 50% higher than in 1924. Up until 1933, the złoty was freely exchanged into gold and foreign currency. Based on these developments, the Polish government made the decision to adopt the
gold standard
A gold standard is a backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the ...
and maintain it for a significant period to attract global investors.
Under the occupation during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the Germans created an Emissary Bank (''Bank Emisyjny'') in
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
, as Polish bank officials fled to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in France. It started operating on 8 April 1940, and in May, old banknotes from 1924 to 1939 were overstamped by the new entity. Money exchange was limited per individual; the limits varied according to the status of the person. The fixed exchange rate was 2 złoty per 1
Reichsmark.
A new issue of notes appeared in the years 1940–1941.
On 15 January 1945, the
National Bank of Poland was formed, and a new printing plant opened in
Łódź
Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
. The series II and III notes were designed by Ryszard Kleczewski and
Wacław Borowski. The first three series were taken out of circulation in line with legislation signed on 28 October 1950, covering the introduction of a new złoty with a revived coinage system.
Third złoty (PLZ)
In 1950, the third złoty () was introduced, replacing all notes issued up to 1948 at a rate of one hundred to one, while all bank assets were re-denominated in the ratio 100:3. The new banknotes were dated 1948, while the new coins were dated 1949. Initially, by law with effect from 1950, 1 złoty was worth 0.222168
grams of pure gold. The banknotes were issued in denominations ranging from 10 zlotych to
5 million zlotych.
Fourth złoty (PLN)
After the fall of
communism
Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
in 1989 and successive
hyperinflation
In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real versus nominal value (economics), real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimiz ...
in 1990, the złoty was again
redenominated. On 11 May 1994, a redenomination project from the
NBP was approved; the act allowing the project to come into force was ratified on 7 July 1994. Thus, on 1 January 1995, the PLN was introduced at a rate of 1 PLN to 10,000 PLZ.
Redesigned coins and banknotes were released featuring
Polish monarchs, which were printed by
De La Rue in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
(until 1997) and PWPW in
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
(from 1997).
Between 2013 and 2014, the banknotes received additional security features. The design does not differ greatly from the original 1994 series, but is distinguishable by the added white-coloured field with a watermark on the obverse. The updated notes also possess randomly arranged dotting, which are part of the
EURion constellation.
On 10 February 2017, a 500zł banknote with the likeness of
John III Sobieski began circulating. On 2 October 2019, the
19 złotych note was released. In 2021, Adam Glapiński, president of the National Bank of Poland, announced that a 1000zł note will be introduced in the near future,
but the project was cancelled in 2024.
Future of the złoty
One of the conditions of Poland joining the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
in May 2004 obliges the country to eventually adopt the euro, though not at any specific date and only after Poland meets the necessary
stability criteria; serious discussions regarding joining the
Eurozone have ensued. An amendment to Article 227 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Poland, which cedes the exclusive right to issue money to the Bank of Poland, will be required.
While opinions of the euro have not always been favorable, 2022 opinion polling on behalf of the European Commission found 60% of respondents support adopting the euro.
Banknotes
The banknotes range from 120 to 150 millimetres in length and from 60 to 75 millimetres in width. The length increases by 6mm and the width by 3mm with every higher denomination. The
obverse features the left profile of a Polish monarch clothed in armour or
royal regalia; the sovereigns are arranged
chronologically based on the period of reign. The
reverse illustrates important landmarks, early coinage or important objects from
Poland's history. Architectural elements comprising portals, columns, windows or flower motifs are scattered throughout each banknote, both on the obverse and on the reverse. Predominant colours used include shades of brown, pink or purple, blue, green, and gold.
Face value is given in numerals in the upper-left and upper-right corners on the obverse, and in the upper-right corner on the reverse. The written form of the nominal value is embedded
vertically on the obverse and
horizontally on the reverse.
The notes are adorned by the eagle charge from the Polish
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
, along with signatures of the President and General Treasurer of NBP – the
National Bank of Poland.
Exchange rates
List of coins/banknotes
Diameter (
⌀) shown in mm, mass in grams. 1 - Minted both in Budapest and Warsaw in numbers of 300,100,600 coins.
See also
*
Commemorative coins of Poland
*
Economy of Poland
*
Historical coins and banknotes of Poland
*
Poland and the euro
*
Polish coins and banknotes
References
Footnotes
External links
Banknotes from the 1970s in the case if Poland invaded western countries or the Polska Wytwórnia Papierów Wartościowych were ruined (video, in Polish)Polish złoty in 1939-1945 (in Polish)A fan-shaped 10 złoty commemorative coin released in 2004*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20101213013353/http://collectibles.kleptomaniak.pl/browse-poland.html Chosen Polish banknotesPolish Zloty coins catalog informationA numismatic catalog with over 650 Polish coins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polish Zloty
Currencies of Poland
Currency symbols
Circulating currencies
Currencies of Europe
Guilder