Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
100 Forint Kossuth bankó
| Issuer | Hungarian Revolutionary Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1848 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 100 Gulden (Forint) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | The Hungarian coat of arms is centrally placed within an elaborate ornamental frame, flanked by the numeral '100' in a separate decorative cartouche. The face value inscription is rendered in four languages around the central vignette, set within a guilloche-patterned border typical of mid-19th century letterpress printing. Dated 'September 1-én, 1848' and signed by Lajos Kossuth as Minister of Finance, the note carries the full legal tender text affirming redemption at 100 silver forint. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 100 SZÁZ FORINT Ezen pénzjegy minden álladalmi és közpénztárakban száz ezüst forint gyanánt, három húszast egy forontra számítva, elfogadtatik, `s teljes név- szerinti értéke a közállomány által biztosíttatik. Buda-Pest, september 1-én, 1848 Kossuth Lajos Pénzügyminszter (Translation: 100 forint This state-note, in all national and public financial institutions, as 100 silver forint - counting three 20 krajczár coins for one forint - shall be in its full face value and shall be redeemed from the central funds Budapest, September the 1st, 1848 Lajos Kossuth minister of finance) |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The "Kossuth bankó" series was Hungary's first domestically produced paper currency, issued by the revolutionary government as the Hungarian Diet broke from Habsburg financial control during the 1848–49 war of independence. Printing in Budapest rather than Vienna was itself a political act — the notes were produced under siege conditions, with resources stretched as Austrian forces advanced.
Tyroler, a Budapest-based engraver of genuine technical skill, designed and cut the plates himself. That a single craftsman handled both design and engraving in-country, without recourse to established European banknote printers, is the real story here. The watermarked paper was sourced domestically, a logistical achievement given the blockade.
After the revolution's defeat in August 1849, Habsburg authorities declared the notes void and attempted mass confiscation — many Hungarians buried or hid them as relics of resistance.