Catalog
2 Forint Kossuth bankó
| Issuer | Magyar Kereskedelmi Bank (Hungarian Commercial Bank) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1848 |
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| Designer(s) | József Tyroler |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | KÉT FORINT Ezen bankjegy két forintért három húszast egy forintra számítva, minden közpénztárnál elfogadtatik, és a Magyar Kereskedelmi Bank által akármikor ezüst pénzre felváltattatik. (Translation: 2 forint This banknote, counting as three twenty coins for a forint, shall be accepted by all public pay desks and shall be exchanged to silver money by the Hungarian Commercial Bank.) |
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| Reverse lettering | E' jegyek' hamisítói 's utánzói nyolcz évre terjedhető börtönöztetéssel büntettetnek. Die Verfälscher und Nachahmer dieser Noten werden mit Kerker bis zu acht Jahren bestraft. Tichto znakov zfalssovníci a následníci na osem rokov rozlížit mohúcim žakárstvom sa trescú. Ovih ceduijah izkrivitelji i spotvoritelji kazne se utamničenjem, produživím na osam godinah. Фалжификаторьл Шедилор Ачестора кȣ Ареȣт де Опт Ани Це ва педепси. (Translation: The forgers and imitators of these notes can be penalised by up to eight years of imprisonment.) |
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| Comments |
The "Kossuth bankók" — Kossuth notes — were issued in 1848 under the authority of the Hungarian revolutionary government, with the Hungarian Commercial Bank serving as nominal issuer largely for legal cover. The real driving force was Lajos Kossuth himself, then Finance Minister, who pushed through emergency paper money production to fund the uprising against Habsburg rule. Printing was handled domestically, an unusual and technically constrained choice that gave the series its distinctly rough-hewn character compared to contemporary Western European issues.
József Tyroler was a respected Budapest-based engraver, but domestic production capacity in 1848 was limited, and it shows. The notes circulated aggressively during the revolution and were declared void by Austrian authorities after the defeat of 1849.