Narodowy Bank Polski (NBP) has released a new 20 zloty commemorative banknote dedicated to the famous Polish astronomer, economist and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus, marking the 550th anniversary of his birth, and the 480th anniversary of his death.
The Polish Security Printing Works (PWPW) produced the banknote on CCL Secure’s GUARDIAN™ substrate. Its design is described as a dynamic celebration of the life and work of Copernicus, featuring the iconic portrait from the Bourgeois Hall in the Old Town Hall in Toruń, the city where he was born on 19 February 1473.
Alongside the portrait, several security features are embedded into the substrate to bolster the counterfeit resilience of the commemorative note, including both a large and a smaller window.
The large transparent blue window contains CCL Secure’s Cinema™ feature, which shows multiple images of the earth rotating around the sun, paying homage to the astronomer’s ground-breaking discovery. The 25mm wide feature is complemented by a fully clear and transparent window containing a yellow spot colour, vignette line work and shadow images, providing further depth and movement and historical context to the other planets orbiting the sun (such as the heliocentric or sun centred system).
The smaller window includes a VIVID™ Colour feature representing the solar system. In daylight the feature is a white, photographic-like image of the solar system, but under UV light is fully coloured, to show the colourful beauty of the universe.
The iridescent stripe is an additional security feature that complements the image of old coins decorating the reverse side of the note, representing his formulation of the quantitative theory of money. Also embedded into the substrate is a multi-tonal shadow image showing leaves from the ornament on the building where Copernicus lived.
100,000 of the Copernicus notes will be issued, with a sales value of PLN 160.
The NBP has also issued a commemorative 50 zloty silver coin, featuring a fragment of the monument to Copernicus in Warsaw and a stylised image of sunrays along with an unusual amber insert representing the sun. The coins were produced by the Mint of Poland.
