During renovation work in the historic building of the Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego in Warsaw, workers came across a stone slab. It was used by the underground state during its fight against the German occupier. [1620×1100]
by bigmeat
During renovation work in the historic building of the Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego in Warsaw, workers came across a stone slab. It was used by the underground state during its fight against the German occupier. [1620×1100]
by bigmeat
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The workers, tearing up the wooden floor, heard a sound that suggested that there was something under the floor. After removing the plate, it turned out that they were dealing with a matrix for making banknotes. They notified the client, then a historian, who confirmed that it was a matrix for making counterfeits from the period of World War II. It was used by the underground state during the fight against the German occupiers.
The stone is not large, it is 18 by 19 cm, but it is quite heavy, polished like marble. On the smooth surface, you can clearly see the obverse and reverse of a one-zloty banknote. The matrix is in very good condition, the symbols are clearly visible on it, with a little effort you can see the inscription: “Bank Emisyjny w Polsce, jeden złotych”.
This is the printing process called lithography, and the stone is limestone. It is polished like marble so that you have the smoothest surface possible to transfer your design onto (usually) paper.