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5 Forint London
| Issuer | Hungarian Revolutionary Government (Kossuth) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1860-1861 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | The note is printed in letterpress with a symmetrical layout enclosed within an intricate guilloche border, with large numeral '5' vignettes at the left and right margins and the denomination 'Öt forint' in ornate calligraphic script across the upper centre. A central text panel carries the redemption obligation in Hungarian, accompanied by a manuscript signature and serial number, with the Hungarian coat of arms at the lower centre. Multilingual denomination legends — 'Fünf Gulden' (German), 'Pět zlaty' (Czech), 'Чинч флорінти' (Ruthenian), and 'Пять форінти' (Ukrainian) — flank the coat of arms. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Reverse description cannot be determined from available sources with certainty. |
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| Comments |
Lajos Kossuth printed these notes in London as part of a broader scheme to finance a second Hungarian uprising against Habsburg rule — one that never materialized. The émigré government in exile had no territory, no central bank, and no army, yet produced a full currency series intended for use the moment insurrection broke out. The watermarked paper was sourced and printed in England, well beyond Habsburg reach.
The notes were never legally tendered anywhere. Kossuth distributed quantities of them during his American and European fundraising tours, which means surviving examples passed through many hands as political objects rather than monetary ones — closer to pamphlets than banknotes.