10 Zloty Second Polish Republic (1918 - 1939) Romuald Traugutt

1933, Poland (2nd Republic). Large Silver 10 Zlotych “Romuald Traugutt” Coin. XF-

Mint Year: 1933 Reference: KM-24. Mintage: 300,000 pcs. Mint Place: Warsaw Mint Condition: Minor scratches and light deposits, otherwise XF! Denomination: 10 Zlotych - Romuald Traugutt – 70th Anniversary of the January Uprising of 1863 Material: Silver (.750) Weight: 21.76gm Diameter: 34mm

Obverse: Facing bust of Romual Traugut 3/4 right. Dates of birth and passing in fields. Lgend: ROMUALD TRAUGUTT / 1863-1933

Reverse: Crowned white eagle surrounded by light. Legend around, date and denomination below. Legend: RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA / 10 ZLOTYCH 10

The January Uprising  was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (present-day Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, parts of Ukraine, and western Russia) against the Russian Empire. It began on 22 January 1863 and lasted until the last insurgents were captured in 1865.

The uprising began as a spontaneous protest by young Poles against conscription into the Imperial Russian Army,   and was soon joined by high-ranking Polish-Lithuanian officers and   various politicians. The insurrectionists, severely outnumbered and   lacking serious outside support, were forced to resort to guerrilla warfare tactics. They failed to win any major military victories or capture any   major cities or fortresses, but their call for national unity through   the granting of land to peasants led to the elimination of szlachta privileges in the Second Polish Republic by the March Constitution in 1921. Reprisals against insurgents included the Tsar’s abolition of serfdom that granted land at low value and was designed to draw support of   peasants away from the Polish nation and disrupt the national economy.   Public executions and deportations to Siberia, led many Polish to abandon armed struggle and turn instead to the idea of “organic work”: economic and cultural self-improvement.

Romuald Traugutt (16 January 1826 – 5 August 1864) was a Polish general and war hero, best known for commanding the January Uprising. From October 1863 to August 1864 he was Dictator of Insurrection. He headed the Polish national government from October   17, 1863 to April 20, 1864, and was president of its Foreign Affairs   Office.

Before the uprising he was a Lt. Colonel (podpulkownik) in the Russian army where he had won distinction in the Crimean War. He retired from the army in 1862 and became involved with conservative Polish nationalists. After leading a partisan unit in the initial rebellion, he became leader of the rebel forces in October 1863.

After the uprising failed, he was sentenced to death by the Russian regime and hanged near the Warsaw Citadel on 5 August 1864, aged 38, together with other rebel commanders (Rafal Krajewski, Józef Toczyski, Roman Zulinski and Jan Jezioranski). The Roman Catholic Church is considering his beatification due to his overwhelming devotion to God and his sacrifice for his homeland.

n 1916 a monument was raised in Warsaw on the site of his execution, and in 1925 the area around it was dedicated as Traugutt Park.

In 1945, he was honored on the first postage stamp of the newly re-emerged Republic of Poland as part of a three stamp set honoring national heroes. He had been earlier honored on a stamp in the 1938 set for the 20th anniversary of Poland’s independence after World War I. Poland issued additional stamps in his honor in 1962 and 1963. He was also commemorated on the Polish 20 zloty banknote of the 1980’s.

The high school in Czestochowa is named after him, and a memorial column to him was erected in 1933 in Ciechocinek.