Description
Medieval Gold Florins series – Gold forint of Louis I (1342–1382) The second coin in the series “Gold Florins of Medieval Hungary” commemorates the gold forint of Louis I. The motifs on Hungarian gold forint coins underwent significant changes under the reign of Louis I (the Great) of Hungary (1342–1382). The first gold coins in Hungary were minted by his father, Charles I (Charles Robert), patterned on the gold coins of Florence. In the next version, the front of the coin replaced the Florentine lily with the Hungarian-Anjou coat of arms, while the reverse still featured St. John the Baptist. The third type of this coin had a reverse side which depicted Hungarian King Saint Ladislaus, with his main attribute, the halberd (the coat of arms remained on the front). With some variations, this form of the coin continued to be produced until as late as the end of the 16th century. In the 2013 commemorative coin issued by the MNB, of the coins minted by Louis the Great, the gold version depicting St. Ladislaus was used.
Front: The motifs on Hungarian gold coins underwent significant changes under the reign of Louis I. The first coins issued by him were identical in appearance to the coins issued by his father, Charles I. Later the fleur-de-lis on the obverse was replaced by an escutcheon party per pale with the arms of Hungary and the house of Anjou, with the motif of St.John the Baptist remaining on the reverse. The third version became a coin, the reverse of which depicted Hungarian King Saint Ladislaus – revered by Louis I – with his main attribute, the battle-axe (and the coat-of-arms remained on the reverse). With some variations, this form of the coin continued to be minted until as late as the end of the 16th century. The gold collector coin of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank depicts motives of this final version with King St. Ladislaus.
Back:On the back, “I. LAJOS 1382-1382” is the upper legend, and “ARANYFORINTJA” is the lower legend. The upper and lower legends are separated by a flower motif on the left side, and by the master mark of E. Tamás Soltra on the right side. The middle features a depiction of the front of the gold forint of Louis I:This piefort coin is the quadruple-weight version of the 2013. Golden Florin of King Louis I, one ducat weight gold coin. The piefort coin bears the legend „+LODOVICI ∙ DEI ∙ GRATIA ∙ REGIS ∙ UNGARIAE”
Keywords:Middle Ages, history, kings, goldFlorin, gold forint, investment
