Hungary is one of the few countries in Europe that, after joining the European Union, did not exchange its national currency for the euro. In the article we will get acquainted with the coins of Hungary, which first appeared in circulation after the Second World War. To overcome the post-war years that were difficult for the people, the government decides to replace penge, old money, with new ones - forints and fillers.
Small pennies were minted since 1892. For many years they were considered the hundredth part of all paper bills.
The first coins of Hungary were created in the late summer of 1946. They were made from alloys of copper, brass, zinc, but some were from aluminum. Only a coin of 5 forints was made of silver, and then not for long. In order to save money , a year later it was replaced by an analogue from the alloy. Later 5, 10, 20 and 50 forints of aluminum were issued. Only in 1948 was a coin added in 5 fillers.
Coins of Hungary
In the Hungarian People's Republic, until the end of the eighties, there were coins that you can see in the photo below. One forint equaled a hundred small pennies. Since 1949, the name of the country on coins has been replaced by the inscription Magyar Népköztársaság, which in Hungarian meant the new name of the state.
At first, the emblem of Kossuth was depicted on the coins of Hungary. Then he was replaced by the coat of arms of Rakosi. But since 1957, the transformation of the symbol of the country took place again. On this occasion, metal money was redone again.
The image did not change right up to 1989. Due to inflation, the smallest coin with a face value of 1 filler was canceled, and on two in the middle there was a round hole. This is done so that the stores do not confuse it with 20 forints, which were very similar in size and color of the alloy.
Modern coins of Hungary
In recent years, the country has experienced frequent crises, money depreciated, and the government decided to withdraw some coins from circulation. At first, the smallest fillers ceased to be produced. Although now it is believed that 1 forint is equal to 100 fillers, but in fact they have not been used for many years.
Since March 2008, gradually began to get rid of small coins, such as 1 and 2 forints. They had a high production cost, but their face value was very low. In order to save, they stopped releasing them.
There have also been changes in the replacement of 200 forints, which used to be paper, for metal in 2009. The coin depicts the famous chain bridge of Count Secheni.
Since 2012, the name of the state has been changed on all coins. Now, after the adoption of the new Constitution, this country is not called the Republic of Hungary, but simply Hungary (Magyarország).
The iris plant is drawn at 20 forints, the coat of arms at 10 and 100 forints, the eagle at 50, the heron at 5 forints.
Interesting Facts
After coins with a denomination of 1 forint were withdrawn from circulation, they appeared in large numbers in Canada. Entrepreneurial residents saw the strong resemblance of the forint with their coins for automatic machines.
This substitution reached such proportions that in the country it was necessary to replace automatic machines with analogues of a new type.
But not only Canadians were adventurous. Residents of the UK also found a similarity between their 50 pence and the Hungarian coin forint of the same denomination. Sometimes employees of outlets found other people's money in vending machines. But fortunately, this phenomenon has not acquired such a scope. The question of replacing all the machines did not arise.