1919 50-markbanknote from the Bank for Western Poland- RARE
A natural piece in very good condition, with rich colors and all printed elements clearly visible. The creases and folds present on the banknote are so slight that there is no wear or loss of the main design along their lines.
This piece has a well-known and highly regarded provenance, originating from the Lucow collection; a certificate is included with the banknote.
A fine piece, confirmed by a PMG grading note appropriate to its condition (this is the first listing of this banknote on the domestic market with a PMG grade).
References: Podczaski P-002.4.a, Jabłoński 3299 (listed as R8), Lucow 535 (listed as R7).
Immediately after the outbreak of the Greater Poland Uprising on December 27, 1918, the insurgent authorities—with the Supreme People’s Council serving as the governing body—decided, in light of the significant economic disparities prevailing at the time, between the Greater Poland region and the territories of the former Russian partition and Galicia, decided to maintain the customs border until the end of 1919 in order to protect the economic interests of their own citizens, and to introduce their own local currency—the mark, today known as the Poznań mark—in the territories liberated from the occupier. The decision to introduce its own local currency as a legal tender led to the establishment of the Bank for Western Poland as the institution responsible for issuing currency.
The hastily established Bank for Western Poland had not even begun operations, although preparations for issuing its own currency were in full swing; it had an administrative structure, and the Bank for Western Poland’s issuance plan called for printing banknotes in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 (500?) marks. The design work was entrusted to the well-known Poznań artist Antoni Wiktor Gosieniecki, and the actual printing of the banknotes was commissioned to the St. Adalbert Printing House in Poznań. Historical accounts indicate that the work was well advanced, and a certain batch of finished banknotes had been printed; however, due to the local authorities’ withdrawal from the entire project, these banknotes were virtually all destroyed. We also know that test prints of complete sets of denominations ranging from 1 to 100 (500?) marks existed; however, to this day, not even images of them have survived the turbulent history of our country. The exception is the 50-mark denomination, such as the one in this auction, of which a small number have survived.
All pieces of the 1919 50-mark banknotes issued by the Bank for Western Poland—which are rarely found on the collectors’ market—come from preserved printing sheets, where these banknotes lack a series and serial number overprint, and assuming that such printing was planned—these banknotes are 100% unfinished prints.
