A rare badge of the Patronage of Agricultural Cooperatives in Lviv with the image of Franciszek Stefczyk – one of the most important founders of the Polish credit cooperative movement.
The patronage of the Agricultural Cooperatives in Lviv was one of the most important institutions consolidating and overseeing agricultural cooperatives in the southeastern territories of the Second Polish Republic. The organization primarily included Stefczyka's Funds, dairy cooperatives, and agricultural-trade cooperatives , providing them with organizational, auditing, and professional support.
The scale of the Patronage's activity was very large – in the early 1930s it included over 1,500 agricultural cooperatives of various types, constituting one of the most important centres of the Polish cooperative movement.
The central figure depicted on the badge is Franciszek Stefczyk (1861–1924) – an economist, social activist, and cooperative activist whose work was fundamental to the development of Polish savings and credit cooperatives. The rural credit unions established according to his concept, commonly known as Stefczyk's Unions , became one of the most important elements of the Polish rural financial system.
Pin fastening.
Badge from the Collection of Lech Kokociński, Honorary President of the Polish Numismatic Society.
Dimensions 35 x 26 mm
