Poland 1922 100 marek KM-Pn243
This specimen was lot 24028 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2023), where it sold for $120,000. The catalog description[1] noted,
"100 Marek Pattern in Gold, One of Only Three Known, POLAND. Second Polish Republic. Gold 100 Marek Pattern, 1922. Warsaw Mint. PCGS SPECIMEN-64. Among the RAREST of patterns from the Second Polish Republic, this incredible specimen in gold was a treasure from the moment of its production, with only three examples composed of gold. This design was never adopted for general circulation, and remained forever a pattern, the design being idealized to its fullest form here in gold. Special care was taken in the production of the piece, as can be seen by the specimen quality surfaces and wholesome shimmer. Some slight friction is noted, though this is very limited in quantity and does not impact the vivid reflectivity in really any way. An exceptional piece from the Second Polish Republic, and a pattern that is not oft to come to market at regular frequency. From the Anthony J. Taraszka Collection. Ex: Triton IV (12/2000) Lot #2892. Ex: Swiss Banking Corporation (01/1987) Lot #1281. Ex: Farouk Collection."
This pattern, along with a fifty marek, was also struck in bronze and silver. We don't know what the marek was supposed to be worth but the name likely derived from the German mark. No gold coinage was struck until 1925, when ten and twenty zlotych appeared. Poland lost her independence in 1939, not to regain it until the collapse of Communism in 1989.
Recorded mintage: 3 in Gold.
Specification: gold.
Catalog reference: KM-Pn239; Kop-2760 (R8); Par-P166f.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, The January 2023 NYINC Auction: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, featuring the Taraszka Collection and the Mark and Dottie Salton Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2022.
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