Catalog
5 Dollars New York
| Issuer | Independent Hungarian Government (Hungarian Fund) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1852 |
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| Reference(s) | P#S137A |
| Obverse description | The obverse is executed in fine intaglio engraving in black on white paper. At left, a full-length vignette of Lajos Kossuth stands in military dress, while at right a classical female allegory of Liberty holds a spear and a shield bearing the Hungarian arms. The central upper portion carries the Hungarian coat of arms flanked by cannon and flags, with numeral 5 medallions at upper left and right; the large denomination underprint 'FIVE' appears behind the body text, which reads as a promissory obligation of the Independent Hungarian Government, dated at New York. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse shows a mirror-image letterpress impression of the obverse design, printed in black, consistent with a show-through or offset transfer typical of the production method used for these emergency fund notes; the text and vignettes are fully legible in reverse, with no additional design elements added to the back. |
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| Comments |
Louis Kossuth arrived in the United States in December 1851 to a reception that bordered on mass hysteria — Congress suspended its rules to receive him, cities threw parades, and the Hungarian Fund he organized began selling these dollar-denominated bonds almost immediately. They were not currency in any functional sense. Issued against the promise of a free Hungary that never materialized, they were instruments of diaspora fundraising, payable in a future that never arrived.
Danforth, Bald & Co. were among the most capable security printers in antebellum America, responsible for a significant share of legitimate state bank note production. Their involvement lent these notes a visual authority that was entirely intentional.