2,000 forint – 75th Anniversary of the Nobel Prize of György Hevesy

The Magyar Nemzeti Bank will issue silver coins of HUF 5,000 and the non-ferrous metal version thereof with a face value of HUF 2,000 in honour of György Hevesy on 1 August 2018 when the scientist, inventor was born. The special, oval-shaped collector coins are added as the next piece in the series presenting Hungarian Nobel Prize winners launched in 2012 after the Albert Szent-Györgyi, the Jenő Wigner, the Róbert Bárány and Richárd Zsigmondy coins. The occasion of the issuance is that he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 75 years ago for ‘the use of radioactive isotopes as indicators’. The György Hevesy collector coins are legal tender in Hungary, but they do not serve circulatory purposes. Primarily they are a means to raise public awareness of the successes accomplished in science by Hungarian scientists and to acknowledge the significance of the discovery. Nobel Prize winner György Hevesy discovered radioactive tracers, who achieved full success with this method by revealing the main applications, and primarily recognising that the method may be used to examine living organisms. With his discovery he laid the foundation for a new discipline: the nuclear medicine. The collector coin paying tribute to György Hevesy was designed by applied artist and goldsmith Zoltán Endrődy. Both coins have identical graphic design, with the denomination being the only difference. As the central motif on the obverse a representation of how György Hevesy’s discovery, that won him the Nobel Prize, is used in medical diagnosis is shown. Here, the designer placed a schematic representation of a scene where a mutation is discovered by applying radioactive isotope tracers. The scene is reinforced by a human figure composed of dots (molecules) and circular pulsating lines indicating radioactive tracing, which is further highlighted by the rainbow effect on the silver coin. The compulsory design elements of collector coins are also placed on the obverse: the denominations 5,000 and 2,000 FORINT, the inscription MAGYAROSZÁG, the mint year, 2018, as well as the mintmark ‘BP.’ containing a special security element. The half-body portrait of György Hevesy serves as the central motif on the reverse, which is surrounded by the lettering HEVESY GYÖRGY • NOBEL-DÍJ • 1943 in the upper legend and the lettering ‘A RADIOAKTÍV IZOTÓPOS NYOMJELZÉS KÉMIAI ALKALMAZÁSÁÉRT’ in the lower legend highlighting the reason the Nobel Prize was awarded and the occasion of the issuance. Zoltán Endrődy’s master mark is also placed here. Similarly to the other pieces in the series, both collector coins is oval-shaped with centrelines of 25x30 mm, their edges are smooth. The coin with a face value of HUF 5,000 is struck in 925‰ silver and the non-ferrous metal coin with a face value of HUF 2,000 is made from an alloy of copper (75%) and nickel (25%). The silver coin weighing 12.5 grams is made in proof finish and the non-ferrous metal coin weighing 10.3 grams is made in BU finish. The collector coins are issued in limited edition: 5-5,000 pieces can be made of each.