Falsyfikat » The appearance of an eagle with its tongue on a scale

The analysis of counterfeit five-zloty banknotes featuring the image of Prince Józef Poniatowski reveals interesting aspects related to the counterfeiting of Polish paper money in the interwar period. The leading element that was emphasized during the identification of counterfeits was the shape of the eagle's tongue on the back of the banknote. Authentic "fives" were characterized by a long and curved eagle's tongue, while on counterfeit banknotes, this tongue was short and straight. Additionally, on the counterfeit banknotes, the image of Prince Józef Poniatowski was depicted with noticeably less precision - almost without a chin and with a disproportionately shaped beard - most likely due to the rudimentary nature of the methods used. According to my previous research, among the counterfeits of the five-zloty banknote, we can distinguish several series where this dependence is evident. An exception to the established rule is a counterfeit marked with series 14. A., featured at the XIII Premium Auction of the Wójcicki Auction House, which is distinguished by its accurate and typologically rare mapping of an eagle drawing.

In the third quarter of 1924, a correspondent of "Słowo Kujawskie" reported that the indicated forgeries, spread in significant quantities in the Kujawy region, were subject to systematic confiscation. At that time, he noted: "For several days now, the local post office has been confiscating fake 5-zloty banknotes daily, and handing over the holders to the police for protocol registration."

For the purpose of establishing the origins of the specified forgeries, it is necessary to mention an article by Janusz Ptaszyński, which was once published in the highly esteemed Numismatic Bulletin. In that article, the author recounts a story in which he came into possession of forgeries of money issued on February 28, 1919. The forgeries, as the author recalls, were supposed to be found in Lower Silesia in one of the wagons with waste paper. The waste paper brought from central Poland to the paper factory in Miłków contained files from a trial before the District Court in Radom in the 1920s. A factory worker separated the forgeries, which were evidence, from the files, and then the documentation was sent to the shredder. Following the philosophy of Heraclitus of Ephesus – being does not perish or come into being, it only changes. Research evidence in the form of “several dozen kilograms of withdrawn court files” subjected to grinding seems to make it more difficult than impossible to determine the exact genesis of the above-mentioned "five". One can only conclude that the forgery ring was also involved in making fake two zloty bills with the image of Tadeusz Kościuszko, which would be suggested by their parallel presence in the files. Nevertheless, the multitude of sources allows us to postulate continued research on the discussed issue.