1 Dollar New York

Lajos Kossuth arrived in the United States in December 1851 to enormous public fanfare, seeking financial and political support for Hungarian independence following the failed 1848–49 revolution. These notes were issued by his Hungarian Fund as a kind of anticipatory national currency — obligations redeemable once an independent Hungary was established. That day never came. The fund raised money but the anticipated European revolution failed to materialize, and the notes became souvenirs of a cause rather than instruments of exchange.

Danforth, Bald & Co. were among the premier security printers of the period, responsible for much of America's antebellum banknote work — their involvement lent the issue a surface legitimacy that Kossuth actively cultivated during his American tour.