Description
This mint set contains legal tender coins, struck in proof quality with 2022 year date. The set includes the gold plated silver restrike version of the golden florin issued by John Hunyadi (1407-1456).
In June 1446, John Hunyadi, one of the most powerful barons of his time, was elected by the Estates of Hungary as regent until King Ladislaus V came of age. The Diet invested Hunyadi with powers almost equal to those of a king, and thus Hunyadi took advantage of his right to mint coinage. He remained in this position until 1452 when Ladislaus V returned, and after re-signing he continued to serve as captain general of the kingdom and administrator of the royal revenues. Of his many military feats, perhaps the most famous occurred in the summer of 1456, when he broke the Ottoman siege of Belgrade, forcing his enemies into retreat. He died in an outbreak of plague after the siege on 11 August 1456.
Under the regency of John Hunyadi, two kinds of gold florins were minted at Nagybánya (present-day: Baia Mare, Romania), in addition to silver coinage. The back of the florins shows King Saint Ladislaus I, with mint marks to both sides of the figure. The difference between the two types is found in the coat-of-arms on the front: While one has the apostles’ two-barred cross and the raven of the House of Hunyadi on the quartered escutcheon, the other features the Czech lion instead of the two-barred cross.
