Collector coin issuance to honour George Andrew Olah on the 30th anniversary of his Nobel Prize

9 December 2024

The Magyar Nemzeti Bank is issuing a silver collector coin with a face value of 7,500 forints and its non-ferrous metal version of 3,000 forints named ‘Oláh György’ (‘George Andrew Olah’) on 10 December 2024 to mark the 30th anniversary of receiving the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1994 for the ‘results he achieved in the study of positively charged hydrocarbons’. The oval collector coins are the 10^th addition to a thematic series of coins depicting Nobel Prize winners of Hungarian origin and the work for which they received the award. The coins were designed by sculptor Mihály Fritz.

George A. Olah won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1994 for his achievements in the study of positively charged hydrocarbons and his contributions to the area of carbocation chemistry. The significance of George Olah’s discovery is that he was able to prove the previously only suspected existence of carbocations during experiments and he was able to examine their properties. His achievements in the field of carbocations and other electron-deficient particles provided a theoretical basis of new, more up-to-date hydrocarbon chemical processes. His research into cations with special structures yielded several practical benefits. As a result of his discovery, new types of unleaded gasoline were developed, with a higher octane number than that which existed previously; the methanol economy he developed is a viable alternative to the greening of the energy and transport sectors as well as the chemical industry.

George Olah was awarded the Nobel Prize 30 years ago and to honour this the MNB is issuing a silver collector coin with a face value of 7,500 forints and its non-ferrous metal version of 3,000 forints. The oval-shaped coins are an addition to the series presenting Nobel Prize winners and their work, launched in 2012. The primary role of the collector coins is to transfer value and to raise awareness. They are not to be used in everyday payments. The face value displayed on the collector coins is meant to preserve their value to collectors.

Maintaining the series’ thematic concept, the central motif of the ‘Oláh György’ collector coin’s obverse is the three-dimensional model of a carbocation with a typical, stable structure, which Olah’s research was centred around. On the obverse, the compulsory design elements of collector coins are found: the inscription ‘MAGYARORSZÁG’ (HUNGARY) denoting the issuer; under the central motif, in two lines, the denomination ‘7500’ or ‘3000’ as well as the inscription ‘FORINT’; on the right, the minting year ‘2024’ and the mint mark ‘BP.’.

The reverse of the ‘Oláh György’ collector coin features a half-length representation of the scientist, who, with a piece of chalk in his hand, is presenting the cyclical process underpinning the operation of the methanol industry. The chosen motif simultaneously refers to George Olah’s teaching activity as well as the research area that he worked in following his winning the Nobel Prize; as a researcher, he earned the nickname ‘the father of the methanol industry’. To the left of the portrait, in two lines, is the inscription ‘NOBEL-DÍJ 1994’ (NOBEL PRIZE 1994); on the right, along the edge, is the inscription ‘OLÁH GYÖRGY’. The designer’s mark of the designer of the coin, sculptor Mihály Fritz, can be found on the bottom right.

Similarly to the other pieces in the series, the ‘Oláh György’ collector coins are oval shaped with centrelines of 30x25 mm, their edges are smooth. The coins with a face value of 7,500 forints were struck in 925‰ silver and the non-ferrous metal coins with a face value of 3,000 forints are made from an alloy of copper (75%) and nickel (25%). The silver coins weighing 12.50 grams are made in proof finish and the non-ferrous metal coins weighing 10.30 grams are made in BU finish. The collector coins are issued in limited edition this time as well: 4,000 pieces can be made of each.

In order to promote the role of these collector coins to transfer value and raise awareness as widely as possible, the silver coins will be available for purchase for three months, while stocks last, and the non-ferrous version for one year from the date of issuance, at face value in the webshop (https://www.penzvero.hu/) and coin shop of the Hungarian Mint Ltd. (Budapest, distr. V, 7 Báthory street), the producer and the distributor of the coins, starting from 10 December 2024.