Polish Travellers and Explorers – Ferdynand Ossendowski, 10 zl

A commemorative silver 10-zloty coin with an image of Ferdynand Ossendowski

Obverse:
At the top, in a semicircle, an inscription: RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA (THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND). Underneath, an image of the eagle established as the state emblem of the Republic of Poland. In the centre, a stylised image of two old cars. Underneath a facsimile signature of Ferdynand Ossendowski, and below an inscription: 10 ZŁ. On the left-hand side, a stylised fragment of the compass rose. Below, on the right-hand side, in semicircle, the year of issue: 2011. Under the eagle, on the right-hand side, the symbol of the mint: M/W.

Reverse:
A stylised image of Ferdynand Ossendowski, against the background of a shadow of a figure and a stylised fragment of a globe with the network of meridians and parallels. On the right-hand side an inscription. 1876/1945. Underneath stylised images of books. At the top, in semicircle, an inscription: FERDYNAND OSSENDOWSKI.

Coin designer: Dominika Karpińska-Kopiec

Ferdynand Ossendowski was born near Vitebsk, in the distant borderlands of the pre-partition Poland. He was brought up and educated in the Russian partition, and studied at Sorbonne. He became one of the most world-famous Polish people in the 20th century. He is a legendary and extraordinarily colourful figure. Several elements of his biography – which remain mysterious to this very day – are still the object of interest of contemporary authors (an example are the books of Witold S. Michałowski). Ossendowski was above all a traveller and explorer of the yet unexplored regions of the world. He was also an author of travel books and was counted among the world most important writers of this genre in the interwar period. Many of his texts, combining the genres of memoirs and travel book, gained international acclaim and were translated into foreign languages. At the end of the period between the two World Wars, Ossendowski became the most frequently translated Polish writer from among his living contemporaries (if we consider all the writers, Ossendowski gave ground only to Sienkiewicz). His studies in the field of geography and chemistry and travel books were translated into 20 languages and published in 150 issues.

Prof. dr hab. Krzysztof Dybciak

The text comes from the prospectus of the National Bank of Poland