Coin Database
coins documented across 1,000 years of Polish history
Denomination Glossary click to expand
Polish coinage uses denominations whose names and conversion rates changed across a thousand years of history. The same coin appears under different spellings (Polish, Latin, German, English) — these are not errors, just different conventions. Conversion ratios shifted with every monetary reform, so the values below note the era they applied to. See the About page for the full grammar of variants (Dukat / Dukatów / Dukata, grosz / grosze / groszy, etc.).
Silver coinage — base denominations
| Denomination | Latin / inscription | Conversion | Era | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denarfrom Latin denarius | DENARIVS | base unit | Piast – Jagiellonian (~960–1500) | The original Polish silver coin, modeled on the Carolingian denier. Penny-sized, struck thin. |
| Obol | OBOLVS | = ½ denar | Piast (~1000–1300) | Half-denar fractional silver; rare. |
| Brakteatbracteate (English) | — | ≈ 1 denar | Fragmentation period (~1170–1300) | Thin, one-sided silver coin struck on a single die. Introduced into Polish minting under Mieszko III the Old (r. 1173–1202) and dominant through the 13th-c. Piast fragmentation era. |
| Kwartnikquarter-grosz | — | = ¼ grosz | Władysław Łokietek and Casimir III (~1320–1370) | Silver eagle-type fractional grosz introduced in the 14th century. Bears the Polish white eagle on the obverse — among the earliest clearly heraldic coin designs in Polish minting history. |
| Półgroszhalf-grosz | SEMIGROSSVS | = ½ grosz | Jagiellonian (~1390–1572) | The most common Jagiellonian silver coin; widely available to collectors. |
| Groszrelated to the groat / Groschen tradition | GROSSVS | = 1/30 złoty (pre-1924) = 1/100 złoty (1924–present) = 18 denars (medieval) |
Casimir III onward (c. 1367–present) | Polish silver coin introduced by Casimir III in the late 14th century, modeled on the Bohemian Prague grosz. The name traces back to Latin grossus ("thick / heavy") — the same root that gave German Groschen, Italian grosso, and English groat; in modern English numismatic catalogs the Polish coin is referred to as grosz or Groschen, not "groat" (which by convention refers specifically to the English fourpence). Polish spelling: grosz (sg.), grosze (2–4), groszy (5+, genitive). |
| Trojakthree-grosz coin | III GROSSI | = 3 grosze | Sigismund I onward (first struck Kraków 1528) | Established by the 1526 monetary ordinance of Zygmunt I Stary and first struck in Kraków in 1528. Commonwealth workhorse coin through the 17th century. |
| Czworakfour-grosz coin | IV GROSSI | = 4 grosze | Sigismund II Augustus (Lithuanian) | Lithuanian denomination of the late Jagiellonian period (c. 1565–1569); rare on the Crown side. |
| ZłotówkaStanisław August four-grosz coin | LXXX EX MARCA PURA COLON | = 4 grosze = 1/30 złoty |
Stanisław August (1766–1795) | A 4-grosz silver coin of Stanisław August Poniatowski's 1766 monetary reform — a completely separate denomination from Jan Kazimierz's Tymf (which was also nominally called złotówka at issue). The Latin inscription LXXX EX MARCA PURA COLON ("80 to a Cologne mark of pure silver") states the coin's metallic standard. Modern usage also calls 1-zł circulating coins "złotówka" colloquially. |
| Szóstaksix-grosz coin | VI GROSSI | = 6 grosze = 2 trojaki |
Sigismund I onward (Kraków 1528) | Companion to the trojak in Zygmunt I's monetary reform of 1526; first struck in 1528. |
| Ort | ORT, ORTHO | = 18 groszy = ¼ talar |
Sigismund III onward (1608+) | Quarter-thaler; introduced under Zygmunt III Vasa. Name from German "Ort" (corner / quarter). |
| Tymfofficially designated złotówka at issue | ICR · DAT PRETIVM SERVATA SALVS POTIORQ METALLO EST | nominal 30 groszy (actual silver: ~12–15 groszy) |
Jan Kazimierz (1663–1666) | Notoriously debased — circulated at face value during the Deluge wars but contained only half the silver of an honest 30-grosz coin. The famous inscription DAT PRETIVM SERVATA SALVS POTIORQ METALLO EST ("the value is given by preserved welfare, which is worth more than the metal") was an open admission that the coin was a forced loan from citizens to the Commonwealth. The colloquial name tymf (from mint-master Andrzej Tymf) became the standard numismatic reference. Not to be confused with Stanisław August's later złotówka (the 4-grosz coin of 1766+) — see the separate Złotówka row in this table. |
| Złotyliterally "golden" (adjective) | FLORENVS | Pre-1924: = 30 groszy 1924+: = 100 groszy (decimal) |
Unit of account: 16th c.+ Struck coin: 1766+ |
The word literally means "golden" — originally referred to the foreign gold florin / ducat (worth 30 grosze of silver), used as a unit of account from the 16th century. Became a circulating struck coin only with Stanisław August's 1766 reform. Decimal redenomination (= 100 groszy) introduced by the Grabski reform of 1924. Spelling: złoty (sg.), złote (2–4), złotych (5+). |
| TalarPolish form of German Thaler | THALER, TALER | Pre-1766: ~32–180 grosze (variable) 1766+: = 8 złotych = 240 groszy |
Sigismund I onward (1526+) | Large silver crown coin. Multiples (2-, 3-, 5-, 6-thalers) struck as presentation pieces. The talar's value in grosze drifted upward across the 17th-c. monetary crises before being fixed at 8 złotych under Stanisław August. English: thaler; the word also gave us "dollar." |
| Szelągfrom Latin solidus | SOLIDVS | = 1/3 grosz 3 szelągi = 1 grosz |
Casimir IV onward (1450+) | Polish small-change silver/billon. Confusingly, the same Latin word "solidus" was used for the grosz itself in some periods, so SOLIDVS on a coin doesn't always mean szeląg. The Jan Kazimierz copper boratynka was a debased szeląg. |
| Boratynka | SOLID. REG. POLON. | nominal = 1/3 grosz 3 boratynki = 1 grosz |
Jan Kazimierz (1659–1666) | Copper emergency szeląg of the Deluge era. Nominal value was the traditional szeląg ratio, but the copper composition meant intrinsic value was a fraction of that — driving inflation through the late Commonwealth. Named for Tytus Liwiusz Boratini, the Italian engineer who managed its production at Ujazdów. |
Gold coinage
| Denomination | Latin / inscription | Conversion | Era | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florenflorin — Polish form of the Florentine fiorino | FLORENVS | rate not firmly established (only a few specimens known) | Władysław Łokietek (r. 1320–1333) and Casimir III | The earliest Polish gold coin. The Łokietek floren is known from a single surviving specimen and was an isolated, short-lived issue rather than a recurring denomination. Modeled on the Florentine fiorino. |
| Dukatducat — European gold trade coin | DUCATVS / DVCATVS / DVCAT | Sigismund I: ~30+ groszy 17th c.: ~6–14 złotych (drifted with silver crises) Stanisław August 1766+: = 16¾ złotych |
Sigismund I onward (Kraków 1528+) | The standard European gold trade coin (3.49 g, .986 fine, Dutch standard). The ducat-to-złoty ratio drifted enormously over 270 years, stabilized only under Stanisław August's 1766 reform at 16¾ złotych. Spelling: Dukat (sg.), Dukaty (2–4), Dukatów (5+). |
| Dwudukattwo-ducat gold piece | II DUCATVS | = 2 dukats | Sigismund III onward | Two-ducat gold piece; presentation strikes. |
| Trzydukatthree-ducat gold piece | III DUCATVS | = 3 dukats | Commonwealth (16th–18th c.) | Three-ducat gold piece. |
| Czterodukatfour-ducat gold piece | IV DUCATVS | = 4 dukats | Sigismund III – Augustus III (16th–18th c.); rare donative strikes | Four-ducat presentation gold piece, struck principally as donative/coronation issues rather than for circulation. Not to be confused with the August d'or, which is the Saxon-Polish gold pistole (5 thaler / 1 August d'or, 10 thaler / 2 August d'or) struck under Augustus III on the French louis d'or standard. |
| Pięciodukatfive-ducat gold presentation piece | V DUCATVS | = 5 dukats ≈ ½ Portugał |
Stefan Batory & Sigismund III Vasa onward (late 16th c.+) | Five-ducat gold presentation piece (c. 17.4 g). Also called Półportugał (half-portugal) when paired with the 10-ducat Portugał. Struck at Gdańsk, Toruń, Kraków, Bydgoszcz, Wilno, and (under the Saxon kings) Drezno. Spelling: Pięciodukat (sg.), Pięciodukaty (2–4), Pięciodukatów (5+). |
| Sześciodukatsix-ducat gold presentation piece | VI DUCATVS | = 6 dukats | Sigismund III, Władysław IV, Jan Kazimierz | Six-ducat gold presentation piece. Donative strikes from major Commonwealth mints. |
| Ośmiodukateight-ducat gold presentation piece | VIII DUCATVS | = 8 dukats | Sigismund III, Władysław IV, Jan Kazimierz | Eight-ducat gold presentation piece; less common than the six- and ten-ducat denominations. |
| Portugałafter the Portuguese português | X DUCATVS | = 10 dukats | Sigismund III onward | Large gold coin modeled on the Portuguese português (10-cruzado). Polish numismatic showpiece. |
| Donatywadonative — oversized gift coin | varies — royal titles & dedications (no fixed denomination legend) | 10–100 dukats | Gdańsk & Toruń mints (16th–18th c.) | Oversized presentation gold coins. The Gdańsk and Toruń donatywa tradition saw city mints striking these as gifts to a visiting monarch, while royal commissions (like the Bydgoszcz 100-dukat) ran the other direction — minted by the king as diplomatic gifts to ambassadors and the Pope. The Sigismund III 100-dukat donatywa (Bydgoszcz mint, 1621, 348.3 g, c. 70 mm) is the largest Polish gold coin ever struck — issued to commemorate the Polish victory at the Battle of Chocim; only ~6 specimens are known. |
Partition-era foreign denominations
When Poland was partitioned (1772–1918), each occupying power circulated its own currency in the Polish territories.
| Denomination | Origin | Conversion | Era | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KrajcarPolish form of German Kreuzer | Austrian (Galicia) | 60 krajcars = 1 gulden 120 krajcars = 1 thaler |
1772–1857 | Habsburg base unit. Maria Theresa's Galician silver pieces (15 and 30 Krajcar, 1775–1777) and Joseph II's Galician copper coins. |
| Grosz polskiLatin grossus; inscribed GROSCHEN | Austrian (Galicia) | (separate Polish unit retained) | 1794 only | Francis II's 1794 Galician copper 1, 3, and 6 Grossi pieces, struck for the Imperial Austrian Army during the Kościuszko Uprising. Often misattributed to Maria Theresa. |
| FenigPolish form of German Pfennig | Prussian / German | Pre-1873: 12 = 1 Groschen 360 = 1 Reichsthaler 1873+: 100 = 1 marka |
Prussian Partition; WWI Regency Council (1916–1918) | Iron and zinc Fenig coins of the Regency Council were the first modern coins to bear the Polish eagle. The 100-fenig-to-1-mark ratio reflects the post-1873 German imperial system; before that, the Prussian thaler system was in force. |
| MarkaPolish form of German Mark | German | = 100 fenigów | Regency Council; early Second Republic (1916–1923) | Hyperinflation-era currency; replaced by the new złoty in 1924. |
| KopiejkaPolish form of Russian kopek | Russian (Congress Kingdom) | 100 = 1 ruble 1815–1841: 1 kop. = 2 grosze 15 kop. = 1 złoty Post-1841: 1 kop. ≈ 6⅔ groszy |
1815–1917 | Polish złoty was abolished in the Russian Partition in 1841, after which the kopek/grosz ratio became less clean. Tsar Nicholas I's 1832–1841 dual-denomination coins (e.g., 1 Złoty / 15 Kopiejek; 5 Złotych / ¾ Ruble) bridged Polish and Russian systems during the transition. |
| SchillingDanzig copper schilling | Free City of Danzig (under Napoleon) | 3 schillings = 1 Groschen = 1/3 Grosz |
1807–1814 | Napoleonic-era Free City of Danzig copper issues struck in 1808 and 1812, with the "M" engraver's mark of Johann Ludwig Meyer, the Danzig mint supervisor. Continued the traditional Polish/Prussian small-change ratio. |
Modern Polish coinage (Second & Third Republic, PRL)
| Denomination | Conversion | Era | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grosz | = 1/100 złoty (decimal, since 1924) | Second Republic onward | The 1924 Grabski reform made the grosz a centesimal subunit. Circulating denominations: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 groszy. |
| Złotycirculating coins | = 100 groszy (decimal, since 1924) | Second Republic – present | Standard circulating coins: 1, 2, and 5 złotych. Banknotes cover the higher everyday values (10 – 500 zł). |
| Złotycollector / commemorative | 10 – 1000+ złotych face value | PRL & Third Republic (1949–present) | NBP issues precious-metal collector and commemorative coins at 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 zł (and higher) face values. These are legal tender but rarely encountered in circulation — their market value is set by metal content and collectibility, not face value. |
Loading coin database…