The National Bank of Poland (NBP) announce on January that they will commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of an eminent Polish composer and pianist Frédéric Chopin by issuing a collector note with the face value of 20 złoty. The NBP bank is to print 100,000 of the 20-zloty (five euro) notes featuring a picture of Chopin and sell them online for between 25 and 50 zlotys, the bank said in a statement. Chopin was born near Warsaw in 1 March 1810 to a Polish mother and French father, and moved to France when he was 20.
The front of the banknote depicts a portrait of Frédéric Chopin in profile. This element has been made with steel engraving technique. The engraving of the portrait was made by Przemysław Krajewski – hand engraving artist at the Polish Security Printing Works. On the left-hand side, there is an image of the manor house in Żelazowa Wola where the composer was born. On the right-hand side, there is a reproduction of the first edition of Mazurka in B-flat major, Op. 7 No. 1 and of the autograph of the composer. The back of the banknote shows a facsimile of a fragment of Étude in f-minor, Op. 10, No. 9, against a landscape with willows, characteristic of Central Poland region. Banknote designers are Grzegorz Pfeifer and Katarzyna Jarnuszkiewicz. The engraving of the Chopin portrait by Przemysław Krajewski hand engraving artist at the Polish Security Printing Works. The banknotes printed by the Polish Security Printing Works. The banknote is legal tender in Poland. Its face value is 20 złoty.
Photo by Wikipedia: The only known photo of Chopin.Frédéric François Chopin, in Polish Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; (1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849), was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music.Chopin was born in the village of Żelazowa Wola, in the Duchy of Warsaw, to a French expatriate father and Polish mother. He was considered a child-prodigy pianist. Chopin died in Paris in 1849, aged thirty-nine, of pulmonary tuberculosis. The great majority of Chopin's compositions were written for the piano as solo instrument. Chopin invented musical forms such as the instrumental ballade and was responsible for major innovations in the piano sonata, mazurka, waltz, nocturne, polonaise, étude, impromptu and prélude.
Source: National Bank of Poland, Wikipedia, Associated Press.
