Description
With the issue of Vladislaus’s gold forint, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank continues its series “Medieval Hungarian Gold Forints”, launched in 2012 with the gold forints of Charles I (2012), Louis I (2013) and Mary, Queen of Hungary (2014),Sigismond (2016). Albert (2018).
Front: A coat-of-arms split into four parts, shown on the golden coins of Vladislaus I, is featured as the main motif on the obverse in an asymmetric arrangement, bordered by a string of pearls arranged in a slightly unorderly manner, typical of Medieval coins. The coat of arms, split into four parts, was typically featured on golden forints from Sigismund’s rule uniting the elements of family and Hungarian royal coats of arms (Hungarian splits and the double cross). The coins, issued by Vladislaus I, are strongly distinguished from the golden florins of his predecessors by the representation of the Polish eagle and the Lithuanian knight appearing as a family coat-of-arms. Another reference to money history on the obverse is a representation of a typical coin minter of the 1400s, presenting an authentic minting technique. The compulsory design elements of collector coins are placed on the obverse: the lettering ‘MAGYARORSZÁG’ in the upper legend, in the lower left legend the denominations HUF 50,000 or HUF, on the horizontal central axis the mint year and the mint mark ‘BP.’ broken into two lines above one another.
Back: On the reverse, the golden florin of Vladislaus I is shown, with the only difference being that Saint Ladislaus’s figure was enlarged against the representation on the original coin by goldsmith Zoltán Tóth, the designer of the coin. Placed in the outer ring, the lettering ‘I. ULÁSZLÓ ARANYFORINTJA’ (the golden florin of Vladislaus I) is shown in the upper legend, and in the lower legend the years 1440 and 1444 make a reference to the time of Vladislaus I’s reign. The upper and lower legends are separated by a circular, decorative motif on the left and the master mark of Zoltán Tóth on the right.
