1 Pengő

The Magyar Nemzeti Bank began printing its own notes in-house after establishing the Jegynyomda facility in Budapest — this 1938 1 Pengő is among the earlier products of that operation, with engraving credited to Kálmán Moskó, one of the more accomplished intaglio craftsmen working in Hungary during the interwar period. The Pengő itself had only been introduced in 1927, replacing the hyperinflation-scarred Korona at a rate of 12,500 to one.

By 1938, Hungary was drifting firmly into the German economic orbit, and low-denomination notes like this one absorbed heavy circulation pressure as the broader economy strained under rearmament spending.