U.S. Mint’s Coinage for Poland: 1924-1925
The United States mints have struck many kinds of coins for foreign nations and usually with great success. However, on one occasion there were serious problems. It all began at the end of World War I.
Poland as a nation had ceased to exist in 1795. It had been carved up among its neighbors, with Imperial Russia, under Catherine the Great, taking the lion’s share but Prussia and Austria also getting significant areas. It was not until the end of World War I in November 1918 that the Polish people once more obtained their freedom. At first there was bitter fighting as Poland and her neighbors struggled to obtain as much land for themselves as possible.
The postwar battles cost a great deal of real money, of which the new Polish government had very little. This caused a runaway inflation, with each day bringing masses of fresh paper money into the marketplace, but purchasing less and less. It was a vicious cycle that brought hardships to rich and poor alike.
The decline in the value of the Polish paper money meant that the people looked for a stable currency to improve their lives. As early as the summer of 1919, U.S. paper money was in use throughout the country, though there never seemed to be quite enough.
