2 Forint Kossuth bankó

The "Kossuth bankók" — Kossuth notes — were issued in 1848 under the authority of the Hungarian revolutionary government, with the Hungarian Commercial Bank serving as nominal issuer largely for legal cover. The real driving force was Lajos Kossuth himself, then Finance Minister, who pushed through emergency paper money production to fund the uprising against Habsburg rule. Printing was handled domestically, an unusual and technically constrained choice that gave the series its distinctly rough-hewn character compared to contemporary Western European issues.

József Tyroler was a respected Budapest-based engraver, but domestic production capacity in 1848 was limited, and it shows. The notes circulated aggressively during the revolution and were declared void by Austrian authorities after the defeat of 1849.