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Collection of Polish Coins

The largest group of items in the Department of Coins and Medals is the Collection of Polish Coins, counting around 58,000 items. Exhaustive in wealth and reach, the collection makes it possible to trace the entire history of Polish coinage through to the present.
The establishment of the Collection of Polish Coins marks the beginnings of the Department of Coins and Medals at the museum. In 1921, the National Museum in Warsaw obtained a collection belonging to Count Kazimierz Sobański, which had been bequeathed to the city of Warsaw. The Count’s collection was one of largest and most magnificent Polish numismatic collections, numbering nearly 11,000 pieces from as far back as the reign of King Sigismund I the Old up to the year 1867. Most of the pieces were remarkably well preserved and among them were some great rarities. The museum’s collection grew in 1922 with the purchase of 1000 early Medieval coins from Baron Józef Weyssenhoff, and again sixteen years later with an endowment from the State Art Collections. Among the pieces obtained in 1938 were coins uncovered in archaeological excavations and important hoards (such as an assortment of 4500 Piast-dynasty coins found in Karczmiska, including 220 rare bracteates of Boleslaus III the Wrymouthed).
 
It is worthwhile at this point to recall that, as per the terms of the Treaty of Riga, signed at the conclusion of the Polish-Soviet War in 1921, the State Art Collections received an assortment of coins from Soviet Russia. This was a so-called “equivalent” collection meant to compensate for the plunder and removal of antique coins – largely from the University of Warsaw – after the November and January uprisings. Therefore, it can be said that, in a sense, the National Museum’s Department of Coins and Medals carries on the numismatic tradition of the University of Warsaw.
 
The Second World War brought with it catastrophic damage. A significant portion of the collection was lost, including some very rare and unique specimens that were pillaged by German occupants. What remained of the collection was valued at less than 50% of the original pre-war holdings.
 
To a degree, the war-time losses were offset by a 1946 provision from the erstwhile Security Service containing a portion of a Krakow-based collection of Polish coins previously belonging to the Potocki family. Yet, this set of coins was depleted of its most magnificent pieces in a manoeuvre that to this day remains largely unsubstantiated. Sadly these missing treasures from what was originally one of the most bountiful Polish numismatic collections of the early 20 th century have never resurfaced to be exhibited in the Department of Coins and Medals. Along with the Potocki collection, the museum was bequeathed a number of Medieval coins previously belonging to Antoni Ryszard as well as an unparalleled set of Early Modern coins containing some truly unique Polish pieces. In 1949, the Department was once again enriched with the addition of a numismatic collection previously in the possession of the State Mint’s Numismatic Collection, which had been destroyed in war-time bombing campaigns.
 
Presently, the Collection of Polish Coins offers a comprehensive overview of the history of Polish coinage, from the earliest denarii of Kings Boleslaus I the Brave and Mieszko II to the very latest issues. Largely responsible for the collection’s prestige in thespheres of research and collecting is the fact that it boasts some very rare coins  from the early
 
Piast dynasty, as well as priceless multi-ducat gold pieces and donatives from the 16th to 18th centuries. Also on display is a rich stock of circulation coins – small and large denominations – offering a very broad spectrum for study. A separate category is dedicated to coins discovered from hoards and single finds. The importance of these pieces cannot be overstated when considering their value to the study of money and its impact on history. Also found in the collection are coins issued in the Duchy of Warsaw during the partitions of Poland, followed by coins from the interwar period (1918–1939) and those issued after 1945 to conclude this survey of Poland’s numismatic legacy.