Catalog
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| Issuer | Magyar Nemzeti Bank |
|---|---|
| Year | 1990 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
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| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | P#175 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Purple intaglio engraving with a large oval central vignette of a panoramic view of Budapest, with the Elizabeth Bridge (Erzsébet híd) and Chain Bridge crossing the Danube in the foreground and the city skyline extending to the horizon. To the right, the numeral "500" appears within an elaborate guilloche rosette, with the serial number printed in red above and below it. The denomination "ÖTSZÁZ" and "500" are repeated in the top and bottom ornamental border bands. |
| Reverse lettering | 500 ÖTSZÁZ 500 500 ÖTSZÁZ NAGY ZOLTÁN DEL. GÁL FERENC SC. |
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| Comments |
The 1990 500 Forint arrived during one of Hungary's more turbulent monetary moments — the country was mid-transition from a command economy, and the forint was under sustained inflationary pressure throughout the late 1980s and into 1990. By 1995, 500 forints had lost enough purchasing power that this denomination was effectively obsolete for everyday transactions.
A print run of just over twelve million is relatively modest for a circulating denomination, which partly accounts for the difficulty in finding genuinely well-circulated examples — many were quickly superseded and withdrawn rather than worn out through normal use. Engraving duties were split, with Nagy handling the obverse himself and Gál Ferenc responsible for the reverse plate.