Collector coin to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of János Arany

The János Arany collector coins are Hungarian legal tender, although they have not been minted for circulation purposes. The coins were designed by Vilmos Király. His master mark is shown on the reverse of the coins. All three coins attempt to demonstrate the artistic activity of János Arany in its entirety. The centre of the obverse features a motif alluding to the golden section. With its perfect proportions, the motif is intended to symbolise Arany’s mature, classic poetry. Starting from the centre, the titles of some of János Arany’s most important pieces of work are written in slightly wavy lines, symbolising a flying millstone. The lower inscription is a quote from Toldi, a breakthrough piece of work in János Arany’s literary career: ‘REPÜL A NEHÉZ KŐ: KI TUDJA, HOL ÁLL MEG?’ (THE HEAVY STONE FLIES. WHO KNOWS WHERE IT IS GOING TO LAND?). The obverse of the gold collector coin features the following design standard elements: the inscription ‘MAGYARORSZÁG’, the value numeral ‘5000 FORINT’, the mint mark ‘BP.’ and the mint year ‘2017’.

The reverse of the mini gold collector coin features a representation of the young János Arany, made after the engraving by painter Miklós Barabás. The inscription in the semi-circular legend  reads ‘ARANY JÁNOS’. the dates ‘1817’ and ‘1882’ refer to the dates of birth and death of János Arany.

The silver and the gold collector coins have the same design, the only difference being the value numerals. On their obverse, a statue of Miklós Toldi is shown on the base of the János Arany monument by sculptor Alajos Stróbl, with a quote from Toldi ‘RÉMLIK, MINTHA LÁTNÁM TERMETES NÖVÉSÉT’ (I SEE, IT SEEMS, HIS TOWERING FORM) in addition to the standard design elements (the inscription ‘MAGYARORSZÁG’, the value numerals ‘10 000 FORINT’ and ‘2000 FORINT’, the mint mark ‘BP’, made in special micro lettering containing safety features, and the mint year ‘2017’).

The reverse of the collector coin features a half-figure representation of János Arany in older age. Next to the representation is the poet’s signature, as well as the dates of his birth and death in the middle, in two lines placed below each other. The quote from the ballad ‘The Bards of Wales’ by János Arany on the reverse: ‘KOBZÁN A DAL MAGÁRA VALL’ (WITHOUT SALUTE HE STRIKES THE LUTE) is a reference to his ars poetica.