22 June 2018
The Magyar Nemzeti Bank will issue a non-ferrous metal collector coin in bronze coated finish with a face value of HUF 2000 named Fiumei Road Cemetery National Memorial Site on 23 June 2018, within the framework of the Night of Museums. The collector coin programme was launched at the initiative of the Hungarian Heritage Institute in 2014. This issuance offers a valuable contribution to the series depicting the Hungarian national memorial sites and follows the presentation of Somogyvár-Kupavár, Mohács, the New Public Cemetery in Rákoskeresztúr and the Parliament Building and its neighbourhood.
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The collector coin issued in honour of the Fiumei Road Cemetery are legal tender in Hungary, but it does not serve circulatory purposes. Its primary function is to call attention to the only cemetery in the country that was declared as a national memorial site in its entirety, pay tribute and homage to outstanding figures of the Hungarian nation. An open public cemetery in the middle of the 19th century, the Fiumei Road Cemetery became the most appreciated shrine of Hungary by the end of the century. It is here that we find the mausoleums of Lajos Batthyány, Ferenc Deák and Lajos Kossuth among others, but in addition to the memory of great figures of our nation, the cemetery also retains the impressions of consecutive historical eras since 1849. The highest number of great figures of Hungarian history and culture were laid to rest in this cemetery. There are over one and a half thousand protected tombs here. Most of the funeral monuments represent a great value in art history: they are the works of famous architects, sculptors. In the graveyard, separate lots are allocated to artists, Jacobins, heroes of the revolutions in 1848 and 1956. A huge mausoleum is the reminder of the cult of the dead during the single-party state era. Known for its rich flora and fauna, this huge cemetery covering 56 hectares would also make a botanical garden. The collector coin was designed by the Munkácsy Prize winner sculptor, Márta Csikai. On the obverse, positioned in the centre one of the most emblematic statue groups of the graveyard is shown from a side view, which also inspired the logo of the cemetery: a set of statues on top of the Kossuth Mausoleum – the winged geniuses of Freedom, Strength and Light, holding a burning torch, and a lion free of its chains, as the symbol of the Hungarian nation – is the work of Alajos Stróbl. The compulsory design elements of collector coins are placed here: the value numeral of 2,000 FORINT, the inscription MAGYAROSZÁG, the mint year, 2018, as well as the mintmark ‘BP.’ containing a special security element. |
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On the reverse, positioned in the centre, the coin features the representation of the Deák Mausoleum and the walkway leading up to it, with tombs in the background. The line of trees along the walkway is a reference to the rich flora of the graveyard. In the depiction of the walkway we see the lettering “FIUMEI ÚTI SÍRKERT” and “NEMZETI EMLÉKHELY”, above the legend is the emblem of national memorial sites, below it the designer artist Márta Csikai’s master mark is shown.
Similarly to all the other pieces in the series, the collector coin is minted from an alloy of copper (90%) and zinc (10%). It weighs 18.4 grams and it is 37 mm in diameter and has a reeded edge. The mintage limit of the coins is 5,000 in a manually bronze coated finish.
To promote the coins' value conveying and educational role as widely as possible the collector coin can be purchased without time constraints, subject to availability, at face value, on 22 June 2018 at the location where it will be issued, in the Fiumei Road Cemetery, and from 25 June 2018 at the coin shop of Hungarian Mint Ltd. (Budapest, distr. V, 7 Báthory street) and in the webshop on the company’s website (https://penzvero.hu).