To honor the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great 19th century Hungarian poet, Sándor Petőfi, the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) has issued a special large silver collector coin of HUF 30,000 forints and its HUF 7,500-forint non-ferrous metal version, along with a HUF 200 commemorative circulation coin.
At a ceremony held this Tuesday, on the Day of Hungarian Poetry, in the Petőfi Literary Museum in Budapest, it was stated that the collector coins also mark the 175th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849.
Sándor Petőfi (1823-1849) was a Hungarian poet, revolutionary, a national hero, one of the most iconic figures of Hungarian literature and culture. His poems were translated into the most languages in Hungarian poetry. In his short life, the internationally renowned poet wrote nearly a thousand poems, and was one of the first literary figures who managed to make a living from his writings. He started the concept of the literary icon. As an embodiment of Hungarian Romanticism, he introduced new themes into Hungarian poetry, such as the family poetry, the depiction of the Puszta (Hungarian grasslands) and the idea of a free world. His exceptional popularity was also due to the fact that he used plain language in his works, and incorporated the language of the people into literature. He was one of the leading figures of the ‘Young people of March’, a dominant figure in the 1848-1849 Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence.
Issued in a particularly large size, the silver and non-ferrous metal ‘Petőfi Sándor és az 1848–49-es forradalom és szabadságharc’ (Sándor Petőfi and the 1848-1849 Revolution and War of Independence) collector coins show the interconnection of Petőfi's literary and revolutionary activities. The central motif on the front features the printing press of the Landerer and Heckenast printing house, which, in addition to the 12 points of the Hungarian Revolutionaries of 1848, also reproduced one of Petőfi's best-known poems, the Nemzeti dal (National Song), an outstanding piece of poetry from the 19th-century Hungary. The edge of the obverse of the coin is interrupted by the page running off the printing press, on which the first two stanzas of the National Song, one of the first products of the free press, are printed. As well as being a true curiosity, the running out to the edge relief vividly captures the poem's idea of independence, which remains relevant to this day.
The HUF 200 commemorative circulation coin has been issued for the first time. The face value side of these special coins is identical to the denomination side of the 200-forint coin currently in circulation, but the thematic side features a modern rasterized representation of Sándor Petőfi’s portrait drawn by Miklós Barabás replacing the usual Chain Bridge design. Inside the beaded border, the lettering ‘MAGYARORSZÁG’ (Hungary) is shown in a legend at the top left with the minting year ‘2023’ appearing horizontally at the bottom right. Below, to the left of the portrait, is the official logo of the Sándor Petőfi- anniversary year, without the trademark.
One million pieces will be made of this special coin, while the silver collector coin will be minted in 6,000 pieces and the non-ferrous version in 8,000 pieces. The renewed thematic side of the 200-forint coin was designed by applied artist András Szilos, the obverse of the collector coin by sculptor Zoltán Kovács and the reverse by applied artist Andrea Horváth.


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