Stephen I, crowned on Christmas Day 1000 AD with a crown reportedly sent by Pope Sylvester II, is the central figure in Hungary's conversion to Latin Christianity and the consolidation of the Magyar state. The Hungarian National Bank has returned to him repeatedly as a commemorative subject — this 2021 brass issue is one of several in a long-running series honoring foundational national figures. Stephen died in 1038 without a surviving male heir, having outlived his only son Imre, and was canonized in 1083 alongside that son by Ladislaus I.
Stephen I, crowned on Christmas Day 1000 AD with a crown reportedly sent by Pope Sylvester II, is the central figure in Hungary's conversion to Latin Christianity and the consolidation of the Magyar state. The Hungarian National Bank has returned to him repeatedly as a commemorative subject — this 2021 brass issue is one of several in a long-running series honoring foundational national figures. Stephen died in 1038 without a surviving male heir, having outlived his only son Imre, and was canonized in 1083 alongside that son by Ladislaus I.