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Banknotes of the Hungarian forint

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hungarian forint paper money (Hungarian: forint papírpénz) is part of the physical form of the current Hungarian currency, the Hungarian forint. The forint paper money consists exclusively of banknotes. During its history, denominations ranging from 10 to 20,000 forints were put into circulation in correspondence with the inflation which raised needs for higher denominations. Recently, commemorative banknotes were issued as well.

1946 Banknotes

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In 1946, the first series of forint banknotes were put into circulation with the denominations of 10 Ft and 100 Ft. As a consequence of their poor quality (offset printing), many counterfeit appeared in a short time.

1946 Series
Image Value Dimensions Main Colour Description Date of
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse printing issue withdrawal lapse
10 Ft 155 × 71 mm Dark green Mihály Pfeffer, a pressman at the Banknote Printing Office, posed for the illustration Coat of arms 3 June 1946 1 August 1946 31 March 1948 31 March 1948
100 Ft 158 × 72 mm Dark blue Mrs. János Tőkés (Ms. Gizella Várszegi), an employee of the Banknote Printing Office, posed for the illustration Hands holding a hammer and ears of wheat 3 June 1946 7 August 1946 1 May 1951 31 December 1948
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

1947 Series

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From 1947, a second series of banknotes were designed and put into circulation. These banknotes were printed until 1996 with different coat of arms.

1947 Series
Image Value Dimensions Main Colour Description Date of
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse first printing issue withdrawal lapse
Kossuth's coat of arms
10 Ft 166 × 72 mm Green Sándor Petőfi (1823–1849) János Jankó's painting: "Riverside scene" 27 February 1947 25 July 1947 30 September 1992 31 December 1993
20 Ft Blue György Dózsa (1470–1514) Male nude (posing: pentathlete István Hegedűs) with hammer and ear of wheat 1 August 1948
100 Ft Red Lajos Kossuth (1802–1894) Károly Lotz's painting: "Flight from the thunderstorm" 14 August 1948 31 December 1998 31 December 1999
Rákosi's coat of arms
10 Ft 166 × 72 mm Green Sándor Petőfi János Jankó's painting: "Riverside scene" 24 October 1949 1 July 1950 30 September 1992 31 December 1993
20 Ft Blue György Dózsa Male nude (posing: pentathlete István Hegedűs) note
50 Ft Brown Portrait of Ferenc II Rákóczi (1676–1735) by Ádám Mányoki Unknown painter: "Kuruc-labanc battle scene" 1 September 1951 13 June 1953 30 June 1996 31 December 1996
100 Ft Red Lajos Kossuth Károly Lotz's painting: "Flight from the thunderstorm" 24 October 1949 1 July 1950 31 December 1998 31 December 1999
Kádár's coat of arms
10 Ft 166 × 72 mm Green Sándor Petőfi János Jankó's painting: "Riverside scene" 23 May 1957 27 October 1959 30 September 1992 31 December 1993
20 Ft Blue György Dózsa Male nude (posing: pentathlete István Hegedűs) with hammer and ear of wheat 8 November 1960
50 Ft Brown Portrait of Ferenc II Rákóczi by Ádám Mányoki Unknown painter: "Kuruc-labanc battle scene" 3 September 1965 15 June 1966 30 June 1996 31 December 1996
100 Ft Red Lajos Kossuth Károly Lotz's painting: "Flight from the thunderstorm" 23 May 1957 20 March 1959 31 December 1998 31 December 1999
500 Ft 174 × 80 mm Violet Endre Ady (1877–1919) View of Budapest 30 June 1969 21 August 1970 31 August 1999 31 August 2019
1000 Ft Light green Béla Bartók Ferenc Medgyessy's sculpture: "Mother with her child" 25 March 1983 27 June 1983
Recent coat of arms
100 Ft 166 × 72 mm Red Lajos Kossuth Károly Lotz's painting: "Flight from the thunderstorm" 15 January 1992 1 July 1992 31 December 1998 31 December 1999
500 Ft 174 × 80 mm Violet Endre Ady View of Budapest 31 July 1990 6 April 1992 31 August 1999 31 August 2019
1000 Ft Light green Béla Bartók (1881–1945) Ferenc Medgyessy's sculpture: "Mother with her child" 30 October 1992 5 November 1993
5000 Ft Orange-brown Portrait of Count István Széchenyi (1791–1860) by Friedrich Amerling The Hungarian Academy of Sciences building 31 July 1990 25 March 1991 26 July 1999 26 July 2019
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

1997 series

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Between 1997 and 2001, a new series of banknotes were issued with improved security features. The notes share the common size of 154 × 70 mm. The banknotes are printed by the Hungarian Banknote Printing Corp.[1] in Budapest on paper manufactured by the Diósgyőr Papermill in Miskolc.[2]

The Hungarian National Bank has announced the withdrawal of the 1000 forint notes issued prior to 2006. This affects the 1000 forint note from the current series, but without the red metallic strip on the obverse side, i.e. also the Millennium issue. These notes remained in circulation until August 31, 2007. After this period, the note may be refused for payment. However, commercial banks may exchange these notes thereafter. The Hungarian National Bank will continue to exchange these notes for twenty years, until August 31, 2027.

The 200 forint notes were replaced with a new 200 forint coin in 2009.[3] (The silver 200 forint coins that were in circulation until 1998 did not see much use at that time.)

1997 series
Image Value Dimensions Main Colour Description Date of
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse first printing issue withdrawal lapse
200 Ft 154 × 70 mm green King Charles Robert (1288–1342) Castle of Diósgyőr 1998 1 May 1998 15 November 2009 15 November 2029
200 Ft 2001 2001 15 November 2009 15 November 2029
500 Ft orange and brown Prince sovereign Ferenc II Rákóczi (by Ádám Mányoki) Castle of Sárospatak 1998 1 December 1998 31 October 2019 31 October 2039
500 Ft 2001 1 February 2001 31 October 2019 31 October 2039
500 Ft 2007 15 April 2009 31 October 2019 31 October 2039
500 Ft 2013 2013 31 October 2019 31 October 2039
1,000 Ft blue King Matthias Corvinus (1443–1490) the Hercules Fountain from the Castle of Visegrád 1998 1 September 1998 31 August 2007 31 August 2027
1,000 Ft 2002 2002 31 August 2007 31 August 2027
1,000 Ft 2005 10 April 2006 31 October 2018 31 October 2038
2,000 Ft brown Prince sovereign Gábor Bethlen (1580–1629) Viktor Madarász' painting "Gábor Bethlen among his scientists" 1998 1 February 1998 31 July 2017 31 July 2037
2,000 Ft 2002 2002 31 July 2017 31 July 2037
5,000 Ft violet and green Count István Széchenyi (by Friedrich Amerling) the Széchenyi Mansion in Nagycenk 1999 1 April 1999 31 July 2017 31 July 2037
5,000 Ft 2005 2005 31 July 2017 31 July 2037
10,000 Ft red and blue King Stephen I (975–1038) view of Esztergom by Hubert Sattler 1997 1 July 1997 31 December 2019 31 December 2039
10,000 Ft 1998 1998 31 December 2019 31 December 2039
10,000 Ft 2001 2001 31 December 2019 31 December 2039
10,000 Ft 2008 8 September 2008 31 December 2019 31 December 2039
20,000 Ft grey and reddish Ferenc Deák (1803–1876) the old House of Representatives in Pest 1999 1 February 2001 31 December 2017 31 December 2037
20,000 Ft 2004 2004 31 December 2017 31 December 2037
20,000 Ft 2009 2009 31 December 2017 31 December 2037
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.
Recent Series – commemorative issues
Image Value Dimensions Main Colour Description Date of
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse Commemorative subject first printing issue withdrawal lapse
500 Ft 154 × 70 mm orange and brown Prince sovereign Ferenc II Rákóczi (by Ádám Mányoki) The Hungarian Parliament Building and the Hungarian Revolution flag of 1956 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 2006 20 October 2006 31 October 2019 31 October 2039
1000 Ft 154 × 70 mm blue King Matthias Corvinus the Hercules Fountain from the Castle of Visegrád Millennium 2000 1 November 2000 31 August 2007 31 August 2027
2000 Ft 154 × 70 mm brownish the Holy Crown of Hungary Gyula Benczúr's painting: "Baptism of Vajk" Millennium of the state establishment 20 August 2000 20 August 2000 current
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

2014 series

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Beginning in 2014, the Hungarian National Bank issued a revised series of forint banknotes, featuring the same themes as its previous issues, but containing advanced security features. The first banknote issued for this series, the 10,000 forint, was issued into general circulation on 2 September 2014, followed by the 20,000 forint banknote on 25 September 2015, the 2,000 and 5,000 forint banknotes on 1 March 2017, the 1,000 forint banknote on 1 March 2018 and the 500 forint banknote on 1 February 2019.

2014 Series
Image Value Dimensions Main Colour Description Date of
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse first printing issue withdrawal lapse
500 Ft 154 × 70 mm red Prince sovereign Ferenc II Rákóczi (by Ádám Mányoki) Castle of Sárospatak 2018 1 February 2019 current
1,000 Ft blue King Matthias Corvinus the Hercules Fountain from the Castle of Visegrád 2017 1 March 2018 current
2,000 Ft brown Prince sovereign Gábor Bethlen Viktor Madarász' painting "Gábor Bethlen among his scientists" 2016 1 March 2017 current
5,000 Ft yellow Count István Széchenyi (by Friedrich Amerling) the Széchenyi Mansion in Nagycenk 2016 1 March 2017 current
10,000 Ft purple King Stephen I view of Esztergom by Hubert Sattler 2014 2 September 2014 current
20,000 Ft green Ferenc Deák the old House of Representatives in Pest 2015 25 September 2015 current
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

References

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  1. ^ "Hungarian Banknote Printing Corp". Archived from the original on 2006-10-08. Retrieved 2006-11-05.
  2. ^ "Diósgyőri Papírgyár Rt". Archived from the original on 2006-09-25. Retrieved 2006-11-05.
  3. ^ Coins to replace 200 forint banknotes Archived 2010-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, MNB press release, June 23, 2008