70th anniversary of the creation of the Polish Underground State PLN 2

Another coin commemorating the creation of the Polish Underground State in the fall of 1939 has been released.

Obverse: the image of an eagle established as an emblem of the Republic of Poland, at the eagle’s sides signature of emission date: 20-09, under the eagle an inscription: ZŁ 2 ZŁ (PLN 2 PLN), in the rim an inscription: RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA (REPUBLIC OF POLAND) proceeded and finished with six pearls. Under the eagle’s left leg the symbol of the mint: M/W.

Reverse: In the center an image of the Fighting Poland Emblem. In the background a stylized image of the map of the Republic of Poland as of 1939 with the divisions into the Home Army regions. Above an inscription: 1939/1945. A semicircular inscription: POLSKIE PAŃSTWO PODZIEMNE (POLISH UNDERGROUND STATE).

On the side: the inscription NBP (National Bank of Poland) repeated eight times, every second one inverted by 180 degrees separated by stars.

Obverse designer: Ewa Tyc-Karpińska
Reverse designer: Urszula Walerzak

The capital of Poland – Warsaw, occupied by Germany, remained the center of underground political life for the Poles. It was here, in September of 1939 that the Polish Victory Service was created, an underground military-political organization led by general Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski, pseudonym “Torwid”. The Polish Victory Service was an embryo of subsequently developed Underground Polish State.

On November 13, 1939, the prime minister Sikorski created the Union of Armed Struggle. The commander-in-chief was general Kazimierz Sosnkowski. Inside the country, the structures of the Polish Victory Service were transformed into the Union of Armed Struggle. On February 14, 1942, the Union of Armed Struggle was renamed into Home Army (AK) which was subject to the Polish Government in exile.
Beginning with June of 1940, the commander-in-chief of the Union of Armed Struggle was Stefan Grot-Rowecki. Following his arrest in June 1943, general Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski became the commander-in-chief of the Home Army.