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500 Forint Béla Bartók
| Issuer | Hungarian Mint, Budapest |
|---|---|
| Year | 1961 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 38.38 g |
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| Reverse description | A bold, high-relief left-facing portrait bust of the composer Béla Bartók dominates the field, rendered in a naturalistic style with fine sculptural detail in the facial features and hair. The legend 'BARTÓK BÉLA EMLÉKÉV' arches around the upper periphery. The birth and commemorative dates '1881-1961' are inscribed in the lower field flanking the truncation of the bust, marking the eightieth anniversary of Bartók's birth. |
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| Edge | Patterned |
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| Additional information |
Hungary issued this piece in 1961 to mark the 80th anniversary of Bartók's birth, part of a broader postwar Hungarian program of high-gold commemoratives aimed partly at foreign exchange earnings. Bartók himself had died in New York in 1945, effectively stateless and in poverty, his remains not returned to Hungary until 1988 — long after the Communist government had conveniently claimed him as a national cultural hero.
Mintage was extremely low, produced largely for export sale and collector markets rather than domestic circulation. The .986 fineness is notably purer than most contemporary European commemorative gold issues.