10,000 forint – The Kiskunság National Park

The MNB will issue a silver collector coin of 10,000 forints and its non-ferrous metal version with a face value of 2,000 forints on 2 September 2020 to honour the 45th anniversary of the foundation of Hungary’s second national park. The vertical rectangle special collector coins will be issued as a piece of the series depicting national parks, which was launched in 2010. The coin follows earlier issuances presenting the Őrség, the Duna-Dráva, the Duna-Ipoly and the Bükk National Parks. The Kiskunság National Park collector coin was designed by applied artist, Gábor Kereszthury. The Kiskunság National Park was founded in 1975 to honour the co-existence of man and nature for hundreds of years in the Danube–Tisza Interfluve. Shaped into a territory of cultural significance, the Kiskunság network with a mosaic arrangement, consists of nine patch types. Its most valuable areas include the saline soils and lakes in the Duna valley, the sand dunes, the junipers and poplars of the Sand Plateau of the Danube–Tisza interfluve (Homokhátság), backwaters and floodplain forests of the Upper Tisza Region, as well as the grasslands and the yellow soil patches of North Bácska, preserved in nearly its natural state. Two-thirds of the national park of over 50,000 hectares was designated as a biosphere reserve under the UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme in 1979. Lake Kolon, located in its territory, is considered the only biogenetic reserve in Hungary. Lake Kolon in Izsák, the saline lakes of Upper Kiskunság, certain areas in the Pusztaszer and Mártély Landscape Protection Area are deemed as wetlands in line with the Ramsar Convention of international importance. The MNB will issue a silver collector coin of 10,000 forints and its non-ferrous metal version of 2,000 forints named Kiskunság National Park to mark the 45th anniversary of its establishment. The primary role of collector coins is to offer education and present our national treasures, therefore they are not to be used in everyday payments. Their face value serves to preserve the value the coins represent to collectors. The silver and the non-ferrous metal versions have the same design, with their denominations being the only difference. The collector coins were designed by applied artist Gábor Kereszthury. The coins have been issued as part of the series presenting Hungary’s national parks, and therefore their themes and topics closely follow those of the previous pieces of the series, which showcase species of animals or plants, characteristic of the individual national parks on the obverse and a detail of landscape or a vista-like representation of a building on the reverse. The Kiskunság National Park collector coins present two of the most characteristic features of the National Park: the saline lakes and the sand dunes. On the obverse, there is a representation of an eating scooper, standing in the water with its mirror image also appearing. Due to its special needs in terms of habitat, the bird offers a perfect symbol of the saline lakes typically found in the Kiskunság National Park. The compulsory design elements of collector coins are also found on the obverse: in the upper legend the wording ‘MAGYARORSZÁG' (Hungary), below, in two lines the denominations ‘10,000' and ‘2000 FORINT' (HUF), in the lower right corner the mint mark ‘BP.' and the mint year ‘2020'. In the lower left corner on the obverse, the vertical lettering ‘GULIPÁN' (scooper) is placed. The thematic side shows a representation of a typical natural feature in the National Park, shifting sand dunes rippled from the edge in the Fülöpháza Sand Dunes, complemented with a few trees and bushes. The Fülöpháza Sand Dunes of only 2000 hectares, preserve the old features of the Homokhátság. Above the representation, in two horizontal lines the lettering ‘KISKUNSÁGI NEMZETI PARK' (Kiskunság National Park), and at the bottom, to the left in two horizontal lines ‘FÜLÖPHÁZI BUCKAVIDÉK' (Fülöpháza Sand Dunes), referring to the territory, are shown. On the right, applied artist Gábor Kereszthury’s master mark is placed, who designed the coin. The collector coin with a face value of 10,000 forints is struck in .925 fine silver and it weighs 31.46 grams. The non-ferrous metal coin with a face value of 2,000 forints is produced from an alloy of copper (75%) and nickel (25%) and it weighs 27 grams. Both versions are of the same dimensions, a vertical rectangle of 39.6 x 26.4 mm, their edges are smooth. The mintage limit of both coins is 5,000. The silver coin is produced in proof finish and the non-ferrous metal coin in BU finish. In order to promote the commemorative and educational role of these collector coins as widely as possible, the ‘Kiskunság National Park’ silver commemorative coin will be available for purchase at face value for three months, while stocks last, and the non-ferrous metal version for one year in the coin shop of Hungarian Mint Ltd. (Budapest, distr. V, 7 Báthory street) and its webshop (https://www.penzvero.hu/) starting from 2 September 2020.