Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 2013 (25. évfolyam, 1-50. szám)
2013-12-13 / 48. szám
Hungarian gold coin celebrates 100 birthday of legendary World War II photographer Robert Capa HUNGARIAN COINS Official Representative Office c/o THE COIN & CURRENCY INSTITUTE, Inc. P.O. Box 399, WiUiston, Vermont 05495 Contact: A. Friedberg Phone (802) 878-0822 Telefax (802) 536-4787 mail@coin-currency.com The ancient coins of Hungary in modern form: The Gold Florins of Medieval Hungary The Gold Florin of King Louis I (1342-1382) 50,000 Forint coin issued as a regular issue proof and as a doublethick, quadruple-weight “piéfort” Gold coinage in Hungary dates back to the first days of the Hungarian kingdom. While the first gold coin was a solidus of the first king, St. Stephen (997-1038) which is extremely rare today, it was not until the Angevin Dynasty more than 300 years later that King Charles (or Karl) Robert (1310- 1342) issued another one. That began one of the world’s oldest continuous gold coining traditions, and was the model for the first issue in an annual series of gold coins from the National Bank of Hungary - “The Gold Florins of Medieval Hungary.” The second coin in the series is now available. A gold florin of King Louis I (The Great) is precisely replicated on a just-issued legal tender 50,000 forint coin. Designed by E. Tamás Soltra, both sides are based on the gold florin of Louis I,. The obverse of each depicts a lozenge shaped shield within a hexafoil decorated with Anjou-lilies. The reverse shows the gold florin of Louis I with the widely known St. Ladislaus motif supplemented with the name of the king and the dates of his reign, 1342-1382. The coin is issued in two versions, regular and piéfort, both of which are in brilliant uncirculated quality. The regular version maintains the traditional medieval standard used for gold florins, guldens, and ducats: 3.491 grams of .986 fine gold with a diameter of 20mm. Its mintage is limited to just 3,000 uncirculated pieces at issue price of US$397.75. The quadruple-weight piéfort coin bears the legend “+LODOVICI • DEI • GRATIA • REGIS • UNGARIAE” around the edge. It is also 20mm in diameter, but double the thickness of the normal issue and at 13.964 grams is the equivalent of 4 ducats. It is limited to only 500 coins and costs $1,675.00. According to the Budapest mint, half of the issue sold out on the first day of availability. To order, or for more information on these and other coins of Hungary, contact the Hungarian Mint’s North American Representative at P.O. Box 399, Williston, VT 05495. Toll-free 1-800-421-1866. Fax 802-536-4787. Email: mail@coin-currency.com , or click on the Hungarian flag at www.coincurrency.com for secure website ordering. Add $5.75 to each order for shipping and handling in the U.S.A. Shipping to other countries will be based on actual cost. Vermont residents add 6% sales tax. Those desiring to receive information and photographs electronically on a regular basis can provide their email address to mail@coin-currency.com . On July 21, 1342, at the age of 16, Louis the Great (1342-1382), son of Charles I from the Italian branch of the house of Anjou and Elizabeth Piast of Poland, was crowned king of Hungary in Székesfehérvár. He inherited from his father a politically stable, economically balanced realm, along with a rich treasury; as a result, the Kingdom of Hungary grew to be a truly great power under his reign, both in Central Europe and beyond. Louis I essentially followed his father’s financial and economic policies, but at the same time he introduced a number of changes. His reforms were most visible in the field of financial administration, but his name is also associated with the creation of the florin (also called “goldgulden”) and its uniquely Hungarian appearance. Minting of gold coins began in Hungary in 1325; at first their appearance and standard were based on the famous gold florin of Florence with a fleur-de-lis as its main feature. Starting in the 1350s, the traditional forms of the coins were intentionally transformed in several steps resulting in their unique Hungarian identity. The first gold coins issued by Louis I were identical in appearance to the florin gold coins issued by his father, Charles Robert: On the obverse a fleur-de-lis, with a depiction of St. John the Baptist on the reverse (Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, No. 3). In the second step, the fleur-de-lis on the obverse was replaced by an escutcheon party per pale containing the arms of Hungary and of the house of Anjou inside a hexafoil, thus uniting the arms of the country (Hungarian stripes) and the royal house (Angevin fleurs-de-lis) (Friedberg, No. 4). Thus, the obverse of the coin departs from the Florentine pattern, while the reverse still featured St. John the Baptist. The process of change was completed with a coin, the reverse of which depicted Hungarian King Saint Ladislaus, who was revered by Louis I. Saint Ladislaus holds in his right hand his main attribute, a battle-axe, and an orb in his left hand, with a halo around his crowned head. (Friedberg, Nos. 5-7). The new gold florins were produced at several mints, including Buda, Körmöcbánya (present-day Kremnica in Slovakia) and in Transylvania, probably in Kolozsvár (present-day Cluj-Napoca in Romania). The privy mark “P” between the saint’s legs on the coin now being struck indicates that the original was likely struck in the mint of Buda in the 1360s, under chamberlain Petrus Chimle. The rosettes on the two sides of the saint are not merely decorative, but probably also function as emission marks. These gold florin coins, with their particular Hungarian appearance, were also very popular beyond Hungary’s borders. Owing to the coin’s quality and acceptance in trade, it was widely imitated and variations on the Hungarian St. Ladislaus motif began to appear on other coins in Europe, just as the Florentine patterns had been copied in the past. The motif of St. Ladislaus lived on long after the reign of Louis I, and Hungarian gold florin coins bearing his image on the reverse were still being minted as late as the end of 16th century. Fourth piece in the collector series “The World’s Smallest Gold Coins” If your photographs aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough. (Robert Capa) As the fourth piece in the collector series “The World’s Smallest Gold Coins”, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (National Bank of Hungary) is honoring the photographic legacy of Robert Capa by issuing a gold coin to mark his 100th birthday. The obverse of the coin, showing a strip of 35 mm film engraved with the denomination 5000 (forint) was designed by Antal Illés. The reverse by György Szabó has a image of Capa behind his camera along with his name and “1913-1954,” the years of his birth and death. It weighs 0.5 grams and measures 11 millimeters in diameter. It costs $75 in proof quality. Hungarian photographer Robert Capa was born on October 22, 1913 in Budapest as Endre Friedmann. He was one of the most important photographers of the 20th century, working primarily as a photojournalist and war correspondent. He started using the name Robert Capa in 1936. There are two widespread theories for the origin of this name: among his Hungarian friends his nickname was “cápa” (shark) and according to one version this was the basis for his choice. The other version is that he was hoping for more work as a photographer, and the name “Capa” in American sounded like the name of the popular film director Frank Capra. He arrived in Spain in 1936 using this name and spent several years covering the Spanish civil war. One of his most famous pictures comes from this period, the “Falling Soldier.” His series of photographs of the D-Day landing, known as “The Magnificent Eleven,” became world famous. These pictures later inspired the opening scenes of Steven Spielberg’s film, Saving Private Ryan. On May 25, he was accompanying a French convoy near the Red River delta when he stepped on a landmine near Thai Binh and was killed almost immediately. In 1964, his brother Cornell Capa established a foundation in New York to administer his legacy. This later became the International Center of Photography, which currently operates as an archive, gallery and school of photography. To order, or for more information on these and other coins of Hungary, contact the Hungarian Mint’s North American Representative at P.O. Box 399, Williston, VT 05495. Toll-free 1-800-421-1866. Fax 802-536-4787. Email: mail@coin-currency.com , or click on the Hungarian flag at www.coin-currency.com . To order, or for more information on these and other coins of Hungary, contact the Hungarian Mint’s North American Representative at P.O. Box 399, Williston, VT 05495. Toll-free 1-800-421-1866. Fax 802-536-4787. Email: mail@coin-currency.com, or click on the Hungarian flag at www.coin-currency.com . Add $5.75 to each order for shipping and handling. Vermont residents add 6% sales tax. Those desiring to receive information and photographs electronically on a regular basis can provide their email address to mail@coin-currency.com. AMERICAN Hungarian Journal ...... • ...................•.................... December 13,2013 j26c«im iiy
