Description
December 14-15 of 1921 were decisive days in Sopron. They were not only decisive for the fate of the city itself, but for the entire country of Hungary at that time. It was during those days that the citizens of Sopron were asked in a plebiscite whether they wished to remain part of Hungary, or join Austria. This plebiscite was the final act of a long dispute about the fate of Western Hungary, which developed in the wake of the First World War. At the same time, the plebiscite was the greatest political achievement of the Hungarian government at that time. The vote on the fate of the region was held on December 14-15 in Sopron and the incorporated village of Brennbergbánya, and on December 16 in eight surrounding settlements (Ág falva, Balf, Fertőboz, Fertőrákos, Harka, Kópháza, Nag ycenk and Sopronbánfalva). Based on the results of the plebiscite held in Sopron and its surroundings and in accordance with the Venice Protocol, the Allied Generals’ Commission returned Sopron and the surrounding eight settlements to the Hungarian state on January 1, 1922. This represented the only significant territorial revision of the Treaty of Trianon which was permanently accepted by the Great Powers. With this plebiscite, Sopron earned the title “Civitas Fidelissima”, the “Most Faithful City”. The Hungarian government declared December 14, the starting date of the plebiscite, to be the “Day of Loyalty”.
Front: A portrait of Mihály Thurner, the mayor of Sopron, who played an important role in preparing and carrying out the plebiscite and winning over local and national support, can be found on the upper left front of the coin, in a rectangular frame. To the right of the portrait is the vertical legend “THURNER MIHÁLY”. The portrait is surrounded by the legend “A LEGHŰSÉGESEBB VÁROS SOPRON” (SOPRON, THE MOST LOYAL TOWN) from the lower left corner to the upper right corner. The mint mark “BP.” is located by the bottom right corner, with “MAGYARORSZÁG” below it. On the right, the front of the coin bears a framed image of the Firetower, the city’s symbol, as well as the denomination “15000” and “FORINT”.
Back: The back of the coin commemorates the plebiscite held in Sopron. In a square frame, a group of voters is depicted, inspired by contemporary film images. Above this to the left is Sopron’s then coat-of-arms, with the legend “CIVITAS” and “FIDELISSIMA” to the right in three lines, as well as the dates “1921–2021”. 1921 refers to the year of the plebiscite, while 2021 denotes the mint date. In the lower right corner of the back, one sees a detail of a stamped ballot in a ballot box, bearing the name of the country in the Hungarian, German and Croatian languages: “Magyarország”, “Ungarn” and “Ugersko”. The master mark of designer E. Tamás Soltra is found at the lower right edge on the back, as part of the ballot box.
