Obverse. Photo © Magyar Nemzeti Bank
  • 30 000 Forint 2023, Hungary, 200th Anniversary of Birth of Sándor Petőfi, Hungarian Revolution of 1848
  • 30 000 Forint 2023, Hungary, 200th Anniversary of Birth of Sándor Petőfi, Hungarian Revolution of 1848
Description

To honour the anniversary of Sándor Petőfi’s birth, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) issued a 200-forint commemorative circulation coin on the Day of Hungarian Poetry. At the ceremony held in the Petőfi Literary Museum, a special large silver collector coin of 30,000 forints and its 7,500-forint non-ferrous metal version were released, paying tribute to Petőfi's work. The collector coins also mark the 175th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849.

Sculptor: Zoltán Kovács
Engraver: Andrea Horváth

Obverse

The design shows 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.

Referring to the time of the outbreak of the revolution, the year 1848 is hidden in the image of the printing press. The compulsory design elements of collector coins are also placed on the obverse: the inscription ‘MAGYARORSZÁG’, the denominations, the mint mark ‘BP.’ and the mint year ‘2023’, as well as the designer’s mark of sculptor Zoltán Kovács.

30000
FORINT
BP. 2023
1848
Nemzeti dal
MAGYARORSZÁG

Reverse

Depicts a portrait of Petőfi Sándor based on an 1846 ink drawing by Miklós Barabás, with a quotation that can be interpreted as the poet's credo and the motifs reinforcing it. To the right of the portrait, in two lines, the inscription ‘PETŐFI SÁNDOR’ is shown with a handwritten quotation from his poem ‘A természet vadvirága’ (The Wildflower of Nature): ‘A korláttalan természet Vadvirága vagyok én’ (I am the wildflower of nature without boundaries), which is elegantly decorated with wildflower illustrations surrounding the right edge. On the left edge of the reverse, in a legend, the years 1823-1849 are placed, indicating the years of birth and death of Sándor Petőfi, and hidden in the poet's clothing is the designer’s mark of artist Andrea Horváth, who designed the reverse.

1923-1849
PETŐFI
SÁNDOR
A korláttalan természet
vadvirága vagyok én
H

Edge -
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Non-circulating)
Material Silver
Fineness 0.925
Weight 77.76 g
Diameter 52.5 mm
Thickness -
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Budapest Mint (BP)

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