Hungary 500 Forint (2018)

Description

The forint is the official currency of Hungary. The official currency symbol; Ft. The name forint, comes from Florence, where gold coins known as fiorino d’oro have been struck since 1252. From 1325 under Charles Robert, Hungary adopted florentinus (later forint), a gold-based currency, with several other countries following Hungary’s lead. The forint was the name used for the currency of the Austro-Hungarian Empire between 1868 and 1892. The introduction of the forint in 1946 was a critical step in stabilizing the Hungarian economy following World War II, as the pengõ had become nearly unusable due to significant hyperinflation between 1945 and 1946. Consequently, of the currency introduction, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Hungarian National Bank) issued notes in denominations of 10 and 100 forint, followed by a better quality series whose denominations were 10, 20, and 100 forint in 1947 and 1948. The 50 forint note was introduced in 1953, followed by the 500 forint in 1970, 1,000 forint in 1983, and 5,000 in 1991. Between 1997 and 2001, a totally redesigned new series of banknotes in values of 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, and 20,000 forints was gradually issued. Nonetheless, a newly redesigned version of the 1997 banknote series entered circulation in 2014, starting with the 10,000 forint banknote and ending with the 500 forint banknote in 2019.

The 500 forint note front design presents the portrait by Ádám Mányoki (Hungarian Baroque painter 1673 – 1757) of Francis II Rákóczi (1676 – 1735), was a Hungarian national hero, who as Prince of the Confederate States for the Freedom of the Kingdom of Hungary, led the Hungarian rebellion against the Habsburgs from 1703 to 1711. He was also a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece and Prince of Transylvania, and Imperial Prince. In Hungary, he is now regarded as a national hero. The portrait is accompanied by the Shield of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Hungarian National Bank) logo and the silhouette of a horse. The reverse of the note illustrates a view of the Castle of Sárospatak and a coin used in the reign of Mányoki. The lettering of the note is presented in the Hungarian language. This note is part of the 2018 series, and its color is brown-violet and brown on a multicolor underprint.

Text: 500 ÖTSZÁZ FORINT, MAGYAR NEMZETI BANK, II. RÁKÓCZI FERENC, BUDAPEST, A BANKJEGYHAMISÍTÁST A TÖRVÉNY BÜNTETH, MAGYAR NEMZETI BANK, PALINKÁS GY DEL. A SÁROSPATAKI VÁR, MADARÁSZ V PINX, MNB.