23 February 2017
On 24 February 2017 the Magyar Nemzeti Bank will issue a gold collector coin with a face value of HUF 50,000 and a non-ferrous metal coin with a face value of HUF 2,000 on the occasion of the 775th anniversary of the birth of Margaret of Hungary. By issuing the collector coin dedicated to the model of self-discipline and Christian love, the Bank is launching a new series presenting the saints of the House of Árpád.
As all collector coins, the ‘St Margaret of the House of Árpád’ is a Hungarian legal tender, although it has not been minted for circulation purposes. The coin’s obverse features the standard design elements: the inscription ‘MAGYARORSZÁG’, the value numerals HUF 50000 and 2000, the mint mark ‘BP’, made in special micro lettering containing a safety feature, and the mint year ‘2017’. The main motif on the obverse is a present-day detail of the ruins of the Dominican convent on Margaret Island. Following the Battle of Mohi, the princess was offered by her parents for the service of God, and, from the age of 3, she was educated by the Dominican nuns of Veszprém. In 1252 King Béla IV had a convent built on the Island of Rabbits (today Margaret Island), where Margaret took a vow of obedience in 1254 and lived as a Dominican nun until her death in 1270. The building was rebuilt several times; a fragment of the wall of the convent as it looks today is represented on the coin’s obverse. The central motif on the reverse is a half-figure representation of St Margaret, made after a fresco by Simone Martini in Assisi. The columns surrounding the Saint’s figure are intended to shape the perception of closed and open space, thereby alluding to St Margaret’s mission, the dualism of monastic seclusion and the service of the public. As was customary at the time, St Margaret did not turn away from public affairs as a nun, but played an important role in public life and diplomacy. Until the early 14th century, convents were not a place of total seclusion from the world. Influential ladies of noble birth lived inside their walls, and nuns often played a key public role through correspondence and councils. On the coin’s reverse the circular legend reads ‘SZENT MARGIT’, with the dates ’1242-1270’ shown below the central motif, referring to the dates of birth and death of St Margaret. The collector coin was designed by the Munkácsy Prize awardee sculptor and coin designer Enikő Szöllőssy, who was decorated with the Hungarian Gold Cross of Merit in 1994. Her master mark is shown on the reverse. The collector coin with a face value of HUF 50,000 is struck in .986 fine gold and it weighs 6.982 grams (2 ducats). The non-ferrous metal coin with a face value of HUF 20,00 is made from an alloy of copper (75%), nickel (4%) and zinc (21%), and it weighs 4.2 grams. The two coins have the same design. They are 22 mm in diameter and have a smooth edge. 2,000 pieces can be made of the gold collector coin in proof finish and 5,000 pieces of the non-ferrous version in BU finish. From 2014, all collector coins produced from precious metals will also be issued in low-cost versions made from non-ferrous metals. In order for collector coins to play their role as a store of value, the non-ferrous metal coin with a face value of HUF 2,000 can be purchased at a price equal to the face value without a time limit, until stocks last, from 24 February 2017 at the company’s coin shop (7 Báthory utca, V Budapest) and in the webshop on the company’s website (http://penzvero.hu/). Magyar Nemzeti Bank |