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Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Back On Eagle


You didn't expect my coin collection to be complete without some coins from Poland, did you? I know, this is supposed to be about OLD coins. In a country where inflation is as bad as it is in Poland, every generation or so they lop off a few zeros from the ends of all their denominations and start all over again. This renders all of the previous coins pretty much useless, so they get thrown away. The 1960's and 1970's are the oldest I could find. Aren't these eagles beautiful!
The monetary unit is the Zloty. There should be a line through the l to make it sound like a w. (see it on the last 3 aluminum coins?) The o is pronounced like our o in "for", the y like our y in "rhythm". So the word is "ZWO ty". It is the adjective form of the word "gold" (the first coins pictured are made of brass) So, one zloty is "one golden". The plurals get complicated: 2, 3, or 4 are zlote, "ZWO te". And 5 or more are zlotych, "ZWO tyck" (the ck is like the ch in "loch")

Monday, August 27, 2007

Front On Eagle


Now! I want you to notice something. A lot has changed in the past twenty years. Sure, inflation has eroded the value of the old zloty, and now it has been revalued. But notice the crown is BACK on the eagle, just like it was in the old days. Look further! The very NAME of the country has changed. In the communist days it was "Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa" (Polish Republic of the People). Now, it's "Rzeczpospolita Polska" (Republic of Poland). The paper money used to have pictures of politicians on it; now it features the ancient line of KINGS!!
Dzieki Bogu!!!