Banknote featuring Lech Kaczynski wins int'l award

A banknote depicting Poland's late president, Lech Kaczynski, has won the Best New Commemorative Banknote award for 2021, the National Bank of Poland (NBP), the issuer of the note, has said.

The award was granted by Reconnaissance International, a global institution involved in currency, optical and digital security of banknotes. The winner was announced at the High Security Printing EMEA conference held in Tallinn on June 13-15, the NBP said in a press release on Wednesday.

The banknote was issued in November 2021 with the nominal value of PLN 20 (EUR 4.28), but its current price ranges from PLN 150 to PLN 550 (EUR 32-118), depending on the serial number.

The banknote, featuring late president Lech Kaczynski, beat 11 other rivals and possesses all the latest security features.

President Kaczynski, his wife, and 94 others were killed in 2010 when their aircraft crashed as it came in to land at a military airfield near Smolensk in western Russia.