Catalog
5 Gulden Siege money, Arad
| Issuer | Military Command of Arad |
|---|---|
| Year | 1849 |
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| Value | 5 Gulden |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Plain grey-toned paper ground bearing a bold letterpress vignette of the denomination 'V. GULDEN.' in large decorative blackletter script within a scrollwork cartouche, with a red numeral 'V' above. A blind-embossed or typeset circular seal impression appears at lower left, two manuscript signatures are placed at centre-right, and a handwritten serial number 'Nº 826' in red ink together with a series letter and number at lower left complete the design. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | No image of the reverse is available; the reverse of this siege emergency issue is understood to be plain or bears only minimal printed text consistent with the wartime production conditions of the Arad fortress. |
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| Comments |
Arad was one of the last Hungarian fortresses to hold out against Habsburg and Russian forces during the suppression of the 1848–49 revolution. This note was issued under siege conditions, when the garrison was cut off and conventional currency supply had collapsed entirely. The embossed seal and manuscript signatures were the only authentication available — no printing infrastructure for more sophisticated security existed inside the fortress.
Arad surrendered in August 1849. The thirteen Hungarian generals executed there shortly after became the most symbolically charged deaths of the entire revolution. These notes had been worthless for weeks before that.