Poland's money has a pedigree of over a thousand years. At the end of the 10th century the silver denar began to supplant various commodities that had previously functioned as means of payment. The denar system survived for several centuries. In the 14th century, the role of the denar was taken over by the silver grosz. The end of the 15th century witnessed the birth of the Polish zloty, taken as equal to 30 silver grosz. The beginnings of the historical path travelled by the Polish zloty were promising. The zloty corresponded in value to the gold ducat and to the silver thaler. Later, however, things got worse. The crisis of the state and the economy was accompanied by the decline of the currency. It was not until the end of the 18th century that the sound quality of the coin was restored. A monetary history of Poland after 1795 will be presented in the next issue.

Keywords: Poland, denar, grosz, Polish zloty, ducat, thaler.

  Grzegorz Wójtowicz, The Origin and History of the Polish Money. Part I - plik pdf; (120 KB)