Another National Park on MNB Collector Coin

The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) continues its successful series of collector coins featuring Hungarian national parks. In honor of the Aggtelek National Park, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the Bank has issued a silver collector coin with a face value of HUF 20,000 and its non-ferrous metal version with a face value of HUF 3,000 on Earth Day, April 22.

The special rectangular collector coins are part of a series presenting Hungarian national parks, launched in 2010, which follow the Őrség, Danube-Drava, Danube-Ipoly, Bükk, Kiskunság and Hortobágy National Parks.

Situated in NE Hungary, the Aggtelek National Park, Hungary’s fourth national park, was founded in 1985. The park is home to the Aggtelek Karst, where the caves were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995, along with the caves of the Slovak Karst. The national park abounds with natural treasures above the ground: its flora and fauna include numerous rarities, with several species found only here in Hungary, 413 of which are protected and highly protected animal species.

The primary role of collector coins is to offer education and present our national treasures, therefore they are not to be used in everyday payments. Their face value serves to preserve the value the coins represent to collectors. The silver and the non-ferrous metal versions have the same design, with their denominations being the only difference.

The ’Aggteleki Nemzeti Park’ collector coins were designed by applied artist Boglárka Imrei. The coins depict the nature reserve’s features, the protected fire salamander as well as the highly protected Onosma tornense flower, which are seen exclusively in select parts of the Gömör-Tornai Karst.