Hungary: post-communist coinage

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Map of Hungary.

From Wikipedia:

Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It spans 93,030 square kilometres (35,920 sq miles) of the Carpathian Basin. Hungary has a population of 9.5 million, which consists of mostly ethnic Hungarians and a significant Romani minority. Hungarian is the official language, and Budapest is the country's capital and largest city.

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Hungary's location in Europe.

From Wikipedia:

Prior to the foundation of the Hungarian state, various peoples settled in the territory of present-day Hungary, most notably the Celts, Romans, Huns, Germanic peoples, Avars and Slavs. The Principality of Hungary was established in the late 9th century by Álmos and his son Árpád through the conquest of the Carpathian Basin.

King Stephen I ascended the throne in 1000, converting his realm to a Christian kingdom. The medieval Kingdom of Hungary was a European power, reaching its height in the 14th and 15th centuries. After a long period of Ottoman wars, Hungary's forces were defeated at the Battle of Mohács and its capital was captured in 1541. This opened roughly a 150 years long period when the country was divided into three parts: Royal Hungary, loyal to the Habsburgs; Ottoman Hungary; and the largely independent Principality of Transylvania.

The reunited Hungary came under Habsburg rule at the turn of the 18th century. It fought a war of independence in 1703–1711 and another in 1848–1849, but both were unsuccessful. A compromise allowed the formation of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1867, which remained major power into the early 20th century.

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HUNGARY AS AN INDEPENDENT STATE

Austria-Hungary collapsed after World War I. The subsequent Treaty of Trianon in 1920 established Hungary's current borders, resulting in the loss of 71% of its historical territory, 58% of its population, and 32% of its ethnic Hungarians. The beneficiaries were Romania and the newly formed states of Czechoslovakia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later known as Yugoslavia). Today, large numbers of indigenous Hungarians are found in Romania, Slovakia, Serbia and Ukraine, and to a lesser extent also in Austria, Slovenia and Croatia.

In the interwar period, Miklós Horthy became head of state, representing the monarchy as regent in place of the Habsburgs. Hungary joined the Axis powers in World War II, suffering significant damage and casualties. Horthy switched to the Allied side in 1944.

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COMMUNIST REGIME

From Wikipedia:

After the Second World War Hungary was occupied by Soviet troops, who pressured the country to become a republic and allow the communists to take over the government. As a result, the Hungarian People's Republic was established as a satellite state of the Soviet Union. The Hungarians rebelled against communist rule in 1956, but Hungary was invaded by Soviet troops and other forces of the Warsaw pact, who brutally put down the rebellion.

Hungary became comparatively freer after 1956 but still remained a repressed member of the communist Eastern Bloc.

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END OF THE COMMUNIST REGIME



Budapest, capital city of Hungary.

From Wikipedia:

Mikhail Gorbachev became the political leader of the Soviet Union in 1985. Under his reforming rule, the Hungarian communist government began liberalising its regime in the late 1980s.

On 2 May 1989, the first visible cracks in the Iron Curtain appeared when Hungary began dismantling its 150 mile long border fence with Austria. This increasingly destabilized the German Democratic Republic and Czechoslovakia over the summer and autumn, as thousands of their citizens illegally crossed over to the West through the Hungarian-Austrian border. The resulting exodus shook East Germany and hastened the fall of the Berlin Wall.

On 1 June 1989 the Communist Party admitted that former Prime Minister Imre Nagy, hanged for treason for his role in the 1956 Hungarian uprising, was executed illegally after a show trial. On 16 June 1989 Nagy was given a solemn funeral on Budapest's largest square, followed by a hero's burial.

On 23 October, the Hungarian president, Mátyás Szűrös, declared the Republic of Hungary. The country was no longer a People's Republic. The state party agreed to give up its monopoly on power, paving the way for free elections in March 1990. The party's name was changed from the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party to simply the Hungarian Socialist Party, but the 1990 election was won by the centre-right Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF). As Gorbachev looked on, Hungary changed political systems with scarcely a murmur. The last Soviet troops left Hungary in June 1991.

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Flag of Hungary.

From Wikipedia:

The national flag of Hungary is a horizontal tricolour of red, white and green.

It has been the official flag of Hungary since 23 May 1957.


The flag originates from 18th and 19th century national republican movements.

Its colours are from the Middle Ages.

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Coat of arms of Hungary.

From Wikipedia:

The coat of arms of Hungary was adopted on 11 July 1990, after the end of communist rule. The arms have been used before, both with and without the Holy Crown of Hungary. Its elements date back to the Middle Ages.

The shield is split into two parts:

The left side features the so-called Árpád stripes: four Gules (red) and four Argent (silver) stripes. Traditionally, the silver stripes represent four rivers: Duna (Danube), Tisza, Dráva, and Száva.

The right side consists of an Argent (silver) double cross on Gules (red) base, situated inside a small Or (golden) crown. The crown is placed on the middle heap of three Vert (green) hills, which represent the mountain ranges (trimount) Tátra, Mátra, and Fátra.

Atop the shield rests the Holy Crown of Hungary, the crown of King Saint Stephen of Hungary. The crown is kept in the Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest.

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FIRST CIRCULATION ISSUES OF THE NEW HUNGARY

The newly free Hungary issued its first circulation coins in 1990.

These were the aluminium 10, 20 and 50 filler coins.

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Hungary, 10 filler, 1990.

The 10 filler coin was the lowest denomination of the series.

It was made of aluminium and weighed 0.6 grams,

The coin measured 18.5 mm in diameter.


The obverse design from the communist regime was retained.

It featured the same dove as before.


However, the legend now stated REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY.

Previously it had stated PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY.

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Hungary, 10 filler, 1990.

The reverse design from the communist regime was retained.

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Hungary, 20 filler, 1990.

The 20 filler coin was made of aluminium and weighed 0.95 grams,

The coin measured 20.3 mm in diameter.


The obverse and reverse designs from the communist regime were retained.

The physical specifications were also retained.


Again, the legend now stated REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY.

Previously it had stated PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY.

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Hungary, 50 filler, 1990.

The 50 filler coin was made of aluminium and weighed 1.2 grams,

The coin measured 21.5 mm in diameter.


The obverse design featured Budapest's Elisabeth Bridge.

The obverse and reverse designs from the communist regime were retained.

The physical specifications were also retained.


Again, the legend now stated REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY.

Previously it had stated PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY.

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The Elisabeth Bridge, Budapest.

From Wikipedia:

Elisabeth Bridge is the third newest bridge of Budapest, Hungary, connecting Buda and Pest across the River Danube. The bridge is situated at the narrowest part of the Danube in the Budapest area, spanning only 290 m. It is named after Elisabeth of Bavaria, a popular queen and empress of Austria-Hungary, who was assassinated in 1898. Today, her large bronze statue sits by the bridge's Buda side connection in the middle of a small garden.

The original eclectic flamboyant style bridge was built between 1897 and 1903. It was destroyed during World War II, and a significantly simplified brutalist version was built without any ornamentation between 1961 and 1964.

Its two ends are:

March 15 Square (with the oldest church in Pest, Inner City Parish Church, built in the 13th century) and the famous Mátyás Pince restaurant.

Döbrentei Square in Buda with the monument of Saint Gellért on the Gellért Hill, a sculpture of Queen Elisabeth, and the Rácz Baths and Rudas Baths nearby.

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Hungary, 50 filler, 1990.

The reverse design from the communist regime was retained.

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Obverses of the 10, 20 and 50 filler coins of the 1980s.

Here you see the obverses of the 10, 20 and 50 filler coins from the 1980s.

The legend from the communist era stated PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY.

These coins' designs were the only ones retained from the communist era.