Description
775th Anniversary of the Birth of Saint Margaret of Hungary
Saint Margaret of Hungary (1242 – 1270) was the daughter of King Béla IV of Hungary and Maria Laskarina from the house of the Byzantine Emperor, and the cousin of Saint Elisabeth. Revered as an example of self-discipline and Christian love, this commemorative coin is the first release in a new series presenting the Saints of the House of Árpád.
Front: The front has the mandatory elements, such as the legend “MAGYARORSZÁG”, the denomination 2000 forint, a mint mark “BP.” created with special micro-script technology containing security elements and the date “2017”. The main motif on the front is a view of the current ruins of the Dominican monastery on St. Margaret Island. Born after defeat at the Battle of Mohi, she was dedicated to God’s service and entrusted to the nuns of the Dominican monastery at Veszprém from age 3. In 1252, Béla IV had a monastery built on the Rabbit Island (current-day Margaret Island), where Margaret took her solemn vows in 1254 and lived as a Dominican nun until her death in 1270. The building was rebuilt several times and a view of a fragment of the walls shows the current condition of the monastery on the coin.
Back:The back features a half portrait of St. Margaret, based on the fresco of St. Margaret by Simone Martini in Assisi, Italy. The columns around the figure of the saint are intended to form closed and open spaces, referring to the dual nature of Saint Margaret’s life work, the isolation of the monastery and her participation in public affairs. As typical in that day and age, as a nun Saint Margaret did not ignore public affairs and played an important role in public and diplomatic life. At the start of the 14th century, monasteries were not completely isolated from the world. Influential women of noble descent lived there, and thus the nuns performed important public work with their correspondence and counsel. The left side of the back bears the legend “SZENT MARGIT”, with the dates “1242-1270” below the central motif, referring to the years of Saint Margaret’s birth and death.
Keywords:Religion, church history, churchSaints, non-ferrous, coin series
