Budapest, 5 November 2025 – The Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) is issuing a silver collector coin with a face value of 20,000 forints and its non-ferrous metal version of 3,000 on the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. In addition to the collector coins, the MNB is issuing 1 million copies of a 200-forint commemorative circulation coin with a thematic side aligned with the bicentenary.
At the Pozsony National Assembly of 1825, Count István Széchenyi bestowed a year’s income of his estates towards the formation of the Hungarian Society of Scholars. The predecessor of today’s Hungarian Academy of Sciences held its inaugural meeting on 17 November 1830 in Pozsony, and the institution soon became the main organiser of Hungarian intellectual life.
To honour the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the MNB is issuing a 200-forint commemorative circulation coin, as well as a silver collector coin with a face value of 20,000 forints and its non-ferrous metal version with a face value of 3,000 forints. The commemorative circulation coin was designed by goldsmith János Balázs Bitó, while the obverse and the reverse of the collector coins were designed by sculptors Gábor Veres and Mihály Fritz, respectively.
The primary role of the coins being issued now is to transfer value and raise awareness. The public may encounter the commemorative circulation coin in cash transactions while making everyday purchases. Collector coins, however, are not to be used in everyday payments. The face value displayed on the collector coins is meant to preserve their value to collectors.
Further details about the coins can be found on the MNB’s website.