Catalog
100 Forint Kossuth bankó
| Issuer | Hungarian Revolutionary Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1848 |
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| Composition | Paper (Paper: white Color: grey) |
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| 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) |
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| Reverse lettering | Ezen jegyek hamisítói `s utánzói tizenöt évre terjedhető börtönöz- tetéssel büntettetnek. (Translation: The forgers and imitators of these notes can be penalted by fifteen years of imprisonment.) |
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| 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.