10 June 2025
The Magyar Nemzeti Bank is issuing a silver collector coin with a face value of 20,000 forints and a non-ferrous metal version with a face value of 3,000 forints named ‘Apáczai Csere János’, to mark the 400th anniversary of the birth of the first Hungarian encyclopaedist and pioneer of the dissemination of scientific knowledge in the mother tongue. The collector coins were designed by industrial artist Zoltán Endrődy.
János Apáczai Csere was a prominent figure in 17th-century Hungarian cultural history, an educator, philosopher, and theologian. Born in Apáca, Transylvania, in 1625, he studied, among others, at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, where he became acquainted with contemporary European scientific and philosophical trends. His chief work, the Hungarian Encyclopaedia (1653–1655), was the first scientific encyclopaedia in Hungarian, which aimed to educate the Hungarian reading public. With his work, he was ahead of his time and contributed to the creation of Hungarian-language scientific literature. Although his work did not receive sufficient attention during his lifetime, he was later regarded as a role model by thinkers of the Hungarian Enlightenment and Reform Eras. His influence on Hungarian literature is significant, mainly in terms of language and approach: he was one of the first thinkers to use the Hungarian language as a vehicle for scientific ideas, consciously creating new words and expressions for this purpose.
The primary role of the ‘Apáczai Csere János’ coins is to disseminate knowledge and showcase our national values; therefore, they are not to be used in everyday payments. Their face value serves to preserve the value the coins represent to collectors. The silver and non-ferrous metal versions feature the same coin design, differing only in their denomination.
On the obverse, the publisher’s mark appearing on the cover of János Apáczai Csere’s chief work, the ‘Hungarian Encyclopaedia’ and the title and subtitle of the work can be seen, while the reverse side features an imaginary half-body portrait of János Apáczai Csere, of whom no authentic contemporary depiction has survived.
Further details about the coins can be found in the annex.