The Magyar Nemzeti Bank is issuing a silver collector coin with a face value of HUF 5,000 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of István Örkény on 5 April 2012, the author’s birthday. The collector coin will be issued as part of the Major Figures of Hungarian Literature series. Earlier pieces of the series paid homage to Miklós Radnóti (2009), Dezső Kosztolányi (2010) and Árpád Tóth (2011).
The collector coin was designed by Vilmos Király. The obverse of the coin bears the inscription ‘MAGYARORSZÁG’, the value numeral ‘5000‘, the inscription ‘FORINT’, the mint mark ‘BP.’ and the mint year ‘2012’. A labyrinth pattern, constructed from the titles of Örkény’s most popular works, is shown in the centre field, with the author’s initials placed in the centre of the labyrinth. The works quoted are: ‘THE TOTH FAMILY’, ‘CHRONOLOGICALLY’, ‘BABIK’, ‘CHARADE’, ‘SCRIPT’, ‘PEOPLE OF THE CAMPS, ‘CATS PLAY’, ‘THE FLOWER SHOW‘, ‘ONE MINUTE STORIES’, ‘IMPERFECT CONJUGATION’, ‘HOW LONG WILL A TREE LIVE?’, ‘PISTI IN THE BLOODBATH’.
The reverse features a portrait of István Örkény, placed in the centre of the coin. The author’s name appears beside the portrait, in two vertical columns shifted from each other. His birth and death dates (1929-1979) are placed horizontally on the right edge of the coin. The initials of designer Vilmos Király are to the left of the portrait.
The collector coin is struck in .925 fine silver. It weighs 31.46 grams and it is 38.61 mm in diameter and has a milled edge.
The mintage limit is 6,000, of which a total of 4,000 coins can be produced in proof finish.
The collector coin can be purchased from 5 April 2012 at the coin shop of the Hungarian Mint in the Magyar Nemzeti Bank’s Visitor Centre (8–9 Szabadság tér, Budapest) and on the Mint’s website (www.penzvero.hu), where a number of collector coins produced from gold, silver and non-ferrous metals issued earlier are also on sale.
