Description
Our 1-ounce silver medal celebrates King St. Stephen (Stephen I) and the 1000th anniversary of the foundation of Hungary. At the turn of the first millennium, King St. Stephen worked together with Europe and the clergy to lay the ecclesiastical and secular foundations of an independent Kingdom of Hungary.
Front: The front of the medal has the legend “SZENT ISTVÁN ÁLLAMALAPÍTÓ” and “969-1038”, the dates of St. Stephen’s birth and death, along with a portrait of King St. Stephan. The portrait and positioning is quite similar to the portrait found on the front of the 5-pengő Saint Stephan coin designed in 1938 by Lajos Berán, sculptor and artistic director at the State Mint from 1932. On the Berán coin, the portrait faces right, while it faces left on the new coin. The coin commemorates both Hungary’s first king and the work of Lajos Berán at the same time.
Back:The back has the relief work carved for the gravestone of Pope Sylvester II in 1910 by József Damkó, entitled “Pope Sylvester II presents Abbot Asztrik with St. Stephen’s crown” and “EZERÉVES MAGYARORSZÁG”.
Keywords:History, kings, foundation of Hungary, St. Stephen, Hungarians, medal, silver, .999
