Polish currency: getting acquainted with zloty

The official Polish currency (monetary unit) is called zloty. It is equivalent to 100 pence. In the country in circulation are banknotes with a par value of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 zł. Coins with a denomination of 1.2 and 5 zł are widely distributed. There are also coins 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 groschen. Residents of the country, especially students, because of the low cost of goods are often used for daily purchases of coins.

What is a zloty?

The Polish currency since 1995 is officially called the "Polish new zloty". In the currency markets and in exchange offices it is customary to use the reduction of PLN. It was in 1995 that the last financial reform in the country was carried out. In use came and bills, and coins of a new pattern. In accordance with the new legislation, it was decided to carry out exchange operations at the following rate: 10 thousand old zlotys are equal to 1 new zloty.

After 20 years, many residents of the state continue to use prices in conversations in the old format. So, 10 million zlotys is only 1 thousand. The exchange of American dollars and euros for zloty is carried out not only in banks and exchange offices, but also in hotels, bus terminals, airports and railway stations.

Interesting, but true

Poland has been a member of the European Union for almost 20 years, but this fact does not affect the popularity of the national currency. The country is not in a hurry to switch to the euro. Polish currency belongs to the category of easily convertible currency units, and it can be exchanged for another practically in all countries of the world. Tourists are advised to change the euro or dollars not in banks, following European practice, but in special exchange offices. There, the rate of the Polish currency is more attractive. You can withdraw money from Visa or Maestro cards in almost any ATM, but sometimes it is much more profitable to pay by cards. When paying for goods or services, the conversion will be made at the rate of the country of the tourist.

The name of the Polish currency arose in the XIV-XV centuries. Then all golden foreign ducats were called zlotys. The first zloty was 60 pennies and was called the "half-digger".

Features

The Polish currency was created taking into account the needs of people with poor eyesight. To this end, on each banknote there are convex symbols, which vary depending on the nominal value. For 20 zł there is a circle, for 50 - a rhombus, for 100 - a sign "+", for 200 - a triangle. The government has repeatedly changed the format of money. If in the XIV-XV centuries the dinars that replaced the national currency at that time had the appearance of thick coins, then after several centuries, the coins became so thin that they even had the property of breaking down. In 1924, a new monetary system was approved. For the first time the zloty was divided into 100 pence. The cost price of the monetary unit of the country was estimated at 0.1687 grams of gold.

The exchange rate of the Polish currency today

Today zloty is almost the most stable domestic European currency. Polish zloty, despite the onslaught of the dollar in 2008, has successfully survived the crisis.

As of March 17, 2015, the rate of the national currency of Poland was:

• 1 euro - 4,020 PLN.
• 1 dollar - 3,775 PLN.
• 1 PLN - 13,1603 rubles.

Currency pairs on the financial market, in which the zloty is present, are not very common among small speculators and large players. Low volatility and relative uncertainty of a monetary unit are factors that determined the place of the Polish currency in the world market. The state plans to switch to the euro in 2012, but the situation in the world has changed all priorities. Only after the state fulfills the requirements of the ECB, the zloty became a full member of the European Union's financial system. At the same time, several factors affect the exchange rate: the general state of affairs in the EU and the sovereign rating of Poland.