Hungarian korona

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The Hungarian korona (Hungarian: magyar korona; korona in English is "crown") was the replacement currency of the Austro-Hungarian Krone/korona amongst the boundaries of the newly created post-WWI Hungary. It suffered a serious inflation and was replaced by the pengő in 1927.

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Coins 3 Paper money 3.1 Austro-Hungarian Bank notes (1919) 3.2 Postal Savings Bank notes (1919) 3.3 Overstamped Austro-Hungarian Bank notes (1920) 3.4 State notes (1920-1926) 4 External links 5 Further reading

[edit] Introduction

According to the Treaty of Trianon and other treaties regulating the situation of countries emerging from the ruins of the dissolved Austro-Hungarian Empire, the former banknotes had to be overstamped by the new states and - after a given transition-period - replaced by a new currency. In the case of Hungary, this currency was the korona, which replaced its Austro-Hungarian counterpart at par. Hungary was the last country to fulfil the replacement obligation of the treaties, and the stamps used for overstamping were very easy to copy, so a big portion of the common currency circulated in Hungary. This was a factor contributing to the process which finally led to a serious inflation. Finally, in 1927, the korona was replaced by the pengő at 12 500 korona = 1 pengő rate.

[edit] Coins

Körmöcbánya (today: Kremnica, Slovakia), the site of the only mint of Hungary (since the Gyulafehérvár mint in Transylvania (today: Alba Iulia, Romania) was closed in 1871) was awarded to the newly created Czechoslovakia according to the Treaty of Trianon. Thus, the mint machinery was moved to Budapest and set up at different places until the Hungarian State Mint was created.

Only 10 and 20 fillér coins were minted as part of the korona system: first in 1919 under the Soviet Republic with the original Körmöcbánya coin dies (1916 and 1918 restrikes); then in 1920 and 1921 with the correct years of minting but still using the same design and the K.B. Körmöcbánya mintmark.

[edit] Paper money

[edit] Austro-Hungarian Bank notes (1919)

The Oesterreichisch-ungarische Bank / Osztrák-magyar Bank (Austro-Hungarian Bank), the joint bank of the Monarchy had the exclusive patent to print banknotes throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Banknotes were printed in Vienna, Hungary was supplied from there. During the First World War, the chief secretary of the Vienna headquarters intentionally suspended the delivery of banknotes to Hungary.

After the World War, the Hungarian Károlyi government requested the joint bank to deliver printing plates and banknote paper to Hungary, since it would have been too dangerous to deliver printed banknotes due to the political uncertainty. The banknotes (1, 2, 25 and 200 Krone / korona) printed in Budapest under the Károlyi government and then under the Soviet Republic were distinguished with a different serial number (1 K: higher than 7000; 2 K: higher than 7000; 25 K: higher than 3000; 200 K: higher than 2000). After the fall of the Soviet Republic, Vienna declared these banknotes to be counterfeits.

Austro-Hungarian Bank notes
Image		Value	Dimensions	Obverse	Reverse	Issued Date	Withdrawn Date
		1 Krone / korona	112 × 67 mm	Classic architecture pattern	Phrygian head	30 April 1919	14 March 1922
		2 Kronen / korona	123 × 83 mm	Female models	Female models	25 May 1919	31 December 1922
		25 Kronen / korona	135 × 80 mm	Female model	Plain or wavy pattern	25 April 1919	11 November 1920
		200 Kronen / korona	167 × 99 mm	Female model	Plain or wavy pattern	20 May 1919	11 November 1920

[edit] Postal Savings Bank notes (1919)

The Postal Savings Bank notes (Postatakarékpénztári jegy) were issued under the decree of the Revolutionary Governing Council of the Hungarian Soviet Republic by the Magyar Postatakarékpénztár (Hungarian Postal Savings Bank), which was acting as the emission bank of Hungary then. The prewar high denomination banknotes of the Austro-Hungarian Bank were deposited at par to prevent inflation.

Postal Savings Bank notes
Image		Value	Dimensions	Obverse	Reverse	Issued Date	Withdrawn Date
		5 korona	132 × 80 mm	Male model	"Bill of the Hungarian Postal Savings Bank"	6 June 1919	28 January 1923
		10 korona	140 × 88 mm	Phrygian head	Indication of value	23 July 1919	28 January 1923
		20 korona	145 × 90 mm	Phrygian head	Indication of value in different languages	23 July 1919	28 January 1923
		100 korona	168 × 120 mm	Male model	Indication of value in different languages	never
		1000 korona	200 × 134 mm	Allegoric composition	Indication of value in different languages	never	-

[edit] Overstamped Austro-Hungarian Bank notes (1920)

Hungary was the last country among the successor states of the Monarchy to execute overstamping of the common money. The Károlyi government planned to start it on 21 March 1919, but the establishment of the Soviet Republic postponed these plans. Finally, the banknotes (the denominations from 10 to 10 000 Krone / korona) were overstamped from 18 March 1920. Hungary used a red, round stamp to mark the banknotes.

Overstamped Austro-Hungarian Bank notes
Image		Value	Dimensions	Obverse	Reverse	Issued	Withdrawn
		10 Krone / korona	150 × 79 mm	boy model	boy model	24 July 1916	31 January 1924
		20 Kronen / korona 2nd issue	150 × 89 mm	female model	female model	28 October 1918	31 January 1924
		25 Kronen / korona	135 × 80 mm	female model	plain or wavy pattern	25 April 1919	11 November 1920
		50 Kronen / korona	162 × 100 mm	female model	female model	18 December 1916	31 January 1924
		100 Kronen / korona	163 × 107 mm	female model	female model	13 December 1912	30 September 1922
		1000 Kronen / korona	191 × 127 mm	female model	female model	2 January 1903	31 August 1921
		10 000 Kronen / korona	191 × 127 mm	female model	female model	19 December 1918	5 June 1921

[edit] State notes (1920-1926)

State notes were first issued in 1921. The designer was Ferenc Helbing. The banknotes were first printed in Switzerland by Orell Füssli, Zürich (except for the lower denominations ,which did not worth counterfeiting) then in Hungary by the newly founded Banknote Printing Co. (Magyar Pénzjegynyomda Rt.) in Budapest. The banknote size was increasing with the higher denominations, which prompted the press to resize the banknotes: from 1923, smaller versions were printed with the same (or slightly different) design.

Main state note printing mark variations:

• Low denomination bills (1 to 20 K, printed in 1920): no mark (printed in Budapest by different printers)

• Large size bills (50 to 25 000 K, printed in 1920 and 1922): ORELL FÜSSLI ZÜRICH

• Small size bills (100 to 1 000 000 K, printed in 1923 and 1923): ORELL FÜSSLI ZÜRICH or Magyar Pénzjegynyomda Rt. Budapest. or no mark (printed by the Magyar Pénzjegynyomda Rt. in Budapest)

• All large and small size bills (50 to 1 000 000 K): T. W. or W or T. WILLI to show the name of the inventor of the photo guilloche technique used to print the state notes

Printer marks on korona state notes
	ORELL FÜSSLI ZÜRICH printer mark on a 50 korona (1920) state note
	Magyar Pénzjegynyomda Rt. Budapest. printer mark on a 100 korona (1923) state note
	T. W. printer mark on a 100 korona (1923) state note

Low denomination series
Image		Value	Dimensions	Obverse	Reverse	Issued Date	Withdrawn Date
		1 korona	129 × 65 mm	Female model	Indication of value in Hungarian and 5 foreign languages	11 July 1921	30 June 1927
		2 korona	131 × 76 mm	Peasant reaping wheat
		10 korona	135 × 79 mm	The Széchenyi Chain Bridge
		20 korona	143 × 84 mm	The Matthias Church, the Fisherman's Bastion, and the statue of János Hunyadi in the Buda Castle
Large size series
Image		Value	Dimensions	Obverse	Reverse	Issued Date	Withdrawn Date
		50 korona	150 × 95 mm	Portrait of Ferenc II Rákóczi by Ádám Mányoki	Indication of value in Hungarian and 5 foreign languages	11 July 1921	30 June 1927
		100 korona	155 × 100 mm	King Matthias		9 May 1921	31 July 1926
		500 korona	170 × 110 mm	Prince Árpád
		1000 korona	193 × 125 mm	King St. Stephen
		5000 korona	205 × 135 mm	Hunnia
		10 000 korona	211 × 144 mm	"PATRONA HUNGARIAE"
		25 000 korona	213 × 147 mm	"PATRONA HUNGARIAE"		6 September 1922
Small size series
Image		Value	Dimensions	Obverse	Reverse	Issued Date	Withdrawn Date
		100 korona	119 × 72 mm	King Matthias	Indication of value in Hungarian and 5 foreign languages	18 March 1924	30 June 1927
		500 korona	128 × 74 mm	Prince Árpád		20 June 1924
		1000 korona	136 × 78 mm	King St. Stephen		15 September 1923
		5000 korona	139 × 83 mm	Hunnia		18 March 1924
		10 000 korona	145 × 88 mm	"PATRONA HUNGARIAE"		18 March 1924
		25 000 korona	145 × 98 mm	King St. Ladislaus		19 May 1924
		50 000 korona	165 × 105 mm	Female model		16 July 1923
		100 000 korona	165 × 105 mm	Female model		30 July 1923
		500 000 korona	185 × 85 mm	Female model		23 February 1924	30 June 1928
		1 000 000 korona	185 × 85 mm	Female model		31 March 1924
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimeter, a standard for world banknotes.

After 25 August 1926 the 1000 to 1 000 000 korona banknotes were overstamped to show the value in pengő.

State notes overstamped to pengő value
1000 korona 8 fillér	5000 korona 40 fillér	10 000 korona 80 fillér	25 000 korona 2 pengő
50 000 korona 4 pengő	100 000 korona 8 pengő	500 000 korona 40 pengő	1 000 000 korona 80 pengő
[[Image:|116px]]		[[Image:|130px]]	[[Image:|130px]]

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bills of Hungary

• (Hungarian) (English) bankjegy.szabadsagharcos.org (Hungarian banknote catalog)
• (Hungarian) (English) www.numismatics.hu (Roman and Hungarian related numismatic site)
• (Hungarian) papirpenz.hu (pictures of Hungarian banknotes)
• (Hungarian) (English) (German) (French) www.eremgyujtok.hu (homepage of the Hungarian Coin Collectors' Society)
• aes.iupui.edu/rwise (pictures of Hungarian banknotes at Ron Wise's World Paper Money Homepage)

[edit] Further reading

• (Hungarian) (English) (German) Gyula Rádóczy, Géza Tasnádi (1992). Magyar papírpénzek 1848-1992 (Hungarian paper money 1848-1992). Danubius Kódex Kiadói Kft. ISBN 963-7434-11-9.
• (Hungarian) (summary in (German) (English) (Russian)) Károly Leányfalusi, Ádám Nagy (2006). A korona-fillér pénzrendszer - Magyarország fém- és papírpénzei 1892-1925 (The korona-fillér monetary system - coins and paper money of Hungary 1892-1925). Magyar Éremgyűjtők Egyesülete, Budapest. ISBN 963-229-523-4.

Historical currencies of Hungary
Currency Forint 1867–1892 Korona 1892–1918 Korona 1919–1926 Pengő 1927–1946 Adópengő 1946 Forint 1946–present Coins coins coins coins - coins Paper money paper money paper money paper money paper money
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Crowns
Current	Czech koruna | Danish krone | Estonian kroon | Faroese króna | Icelandic króna | Norwegian krone | Slovak koruna | Swedish krona
Defunct	Austro-Hungarian krone | Czechoslovak koruna | Hungarian korona | Yugoslav krone
As a denomination	British crown
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