Great Battles - Grulwald, 10 zl

A silver collector coin commemorating the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald. The first Polish collector coin in the form of an ellipse. In addition, on the reverse there is a shiny fragment of a matt relief.

Obverse:
In the center a stylized image of King Władysław Jagiełło against the background of a flag bearing coats of arms of Poland and Lithuania. On the left the image of an eagle established as the national emblem of the Republic of Poland and the year of issue: 2010. At the right bottom an inscription: 10 ZŁ. Below a semicircular inscription: RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA (REPUBLIC OF POLAND). Under the left foot of the eagle the symbol of the mint: M/W.

Reverse:
In the center a stylized image of knights fighting on horseback. Against this background stylized images of flags bearing coats of arms of Poland and Lithuania as well as diagonally positioned lances. At the top a stylized inscription: GRUNWALD/1410.

Coin designer: Robert Kotowicz

The Battle of Grunwald, fought on 15 July 1410, was one of the most important battles in the Medieval Europe. The Polish and Lithuanian forces commanded by King Władysław Jagiełło counted about 45 thousand knights, mostly cavalrymen. The Teutonic Knights, commanded by the Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen, had at their disposal 16 thousand cavalrymen and 5 thousand infantrymen. The Polish king, by postponing the moment of commencing the battle, caused great fatigue among the Teutonic Knights who had been waiting in battle array since morning. The battle finally started around noon with two shots from the Teutonic cannons. This is when the Lithuanian and Russian troops went into battle. After combating artillerymen, they faced the heavy cavalry. After half an hour’s fighting the Lithuanians fled, which probably was a maneuver meant to entrap the left wing of the Teutonic army. This is confirmed by the later return of the Lithuanian soldiers, killing the now chaotically attacking enemies.

The result of the Battle of Grunwald was signing the Peace of Thorn in 1411. Although the conditions of the peace did not reflect the scale of the victory, they were satisfactory for both Poland and Lithuania, which gained the territories being the motive of the war.