200 Forint 1998, Hungary
| in Krause book | Number: 178 |
| Years of issue: | 01.05.1998 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Szapáry György , Dr. Surányi György , Bodnár Zoltán |
| Serie: | Second Series |
| Specimen of: | 01.05.1998 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 154 x 70 |
| Printer: | Magyar Pénzjegynyomda, Budapest |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Charles I.
Avers:
The engraving on banknote is based on this work by Dr. Skultéty Gyula. Swiss-Hungarian sculptor-anthropologist Dr. Skultéty Gyula making the facial reconstructions of Hungarian famous people. He made already nearly 200 molds. Today they been donated to Hungarian museum of history (Magyar Természettudományi Múzeumnak).
Charles I, also known as Charles Robert (Hungarian: Károly Róbert, 1288 - 16 July 1342) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1308. He was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou. His paternal grandmother, Mary, was a daughter of Stephen V of Hungary. Charles inherited the claim of his father, Charles Martel, Prince of Salerno, to the Kingdom of Hungary in 1295. However, most Hungarian prelates and lords refused to acknowledge his claim and remained loyal to Andrew III of Hungary. Charles's paternal grandfather, Charles II of Naples, made Charles's uncle, Robert, heir to the Kingdom of Naples, although Robert was a younger brother of Charles's father.
Charles came to the Kingdom of Hungary upon the invitation of an influential Croatian lord, Paul Šubić, in August 1300. Andrew III died on 14 January 1301 and Charles was crowned king within four months, but with a provisional crown instead of the Holy Crown of Hungary. Most Hungarian noblemen refused to yield him and elected Wenceslaus of Bohemia king. Charles withdrew to the southern regions of the kingdom. Pope Boniface VIII acknowledged Charles as the lawful king in 1303, but Charles could not strengthen his position against his opponent. Wenceslaus abdicated in favor of Otto of Bavaria in 1305. Because of the lack of a central government, the Kingdom of Hungary had disintegrated into a dozen provinces, each headed by a powerful nobleman, or "oligarch". One of those oligarchs, Ladislaus Kán, captured and imprisoned Otto of Bavaria in 1307. Charles was elected king in Pest on 27 November 1308, but his rule was only nominal in most parts of his kingdom even after he was crowned with the Holy Crown on 27 August 1310.
Charles won his first decisive victory in the Battle of Rozgony (at present-day Rozhanovce in Slovakia) on 15 June 1312. Thereafter his troops seized most fortresses of the powerful Aba family. During the next decade, Charles restored royal power primarily with the assistance of the prelates and lesser noblemen in most regions of the kingdom. After the death of the most powerful oligarch, Matthew Csák, in 1321, Charles became the undisputed ruler of the whole kingdom, with the exception of Croatia where local noblemen could preserve their autonomous status. He neither could hinder the development of Wallachia into an independent principality after his defeat in the Battle of Posada in 1330. Charles's contemporaries described his defeat in that battle as a punishment by God for his cruel revenge against the family of Felician Záh who had attempted to slaughter the royal family.
Charles rarely made perpetual land grants, instead introduced a system of "office fiefs", whereby his officials enjoyed significant revenues, but only for the time they held a royal office, which ensured their loyalty. In the second half of his reign, Charles did not hold Diets and administered his kingdom with absolute power. He established the Order of Saint George, which was the first order of secular knights. He promoted the opening of new gold mines, which made Hungary the largest producer of gold in Europe. The first Hungarian golden coins were minted during his reign. At the congress of Visegrád of 1335, he mediated a reconciliation between two neighboring monarchs, John of Bohemia and Casimir III of Poland. Treaties signed at the same congress also contributed to the development of new commercial routes linking Hungary with Western Europe. Charles's efforts to reunite Hungary, together with his administrative and economic reforms, established the basis for the achievements of his successor, Louis the Great. 
On the left side is Hungarian coat of arms.
The current coat of arms of Hungary was reinstated on July 3, 1990, after the end of communist rule. The arms have been used before, both with and without the Holy Crown of Hungary, sometimes as part of a larger, more complex coat of arms, and its elements date back to the Middle Ages.
The shield is split into two parts:
The dexter (left side from the viewer's point) features the so-called Árpád stripes, four Argent (silver) and four Gules (red) stripes. Traditionally, the silver stripes represent four rivers: Duna (Danube), Tisza, Dráva, and Száva.
The sinister (right side from the viewer's point) consists of an Argent (silver) double cross on Gules (red) base, situated inside a small Or (golden) crown, the crown is placed on the middle heap of three Vert (green) hills, representing the mountain ranges (trimount) Tátra, Mátra, and Fátra.
There are many myth ans legends about curved cross on the top of St.Stefan crown. But here is one of them, mostly known.
"What could have caused this damage, and when? In studying the history of the Holy Crown, were found the following: When King Albert died in 1439, his wife was already pregnant with the boy who would become László V. To secure the Crown for her son, she instructed her lady-in-waiting, the wife of Kottaner János, to steal it from Visegrád, where it was kept. She arranged the theft, packed the Crown in a large red velvet pillow, and covered it with cowhide. Then they took the Crown to Komárom, and from there to Székesfehérvár, where they crowned the 3-month old infant with it. The Queen, however, still would not relinquish the Crown, and instructed the same lady-in-waiting to take it to Győr. As Kottaner Jánosné wrote in her journal:
“I took the Holy Crown, and wrapped it very well in a shawl, and placed it in the cradle, among straw, because his highness did not sleep on feathers yet, and I also put a large spoon next to him, with which one usually amuses children. I did this so that, should anyone reach into the cradle, he should think there was something there with which one amuses the noble king. At that time, no one knew of this, except my gracious lady and myself.”
The cradle was placed on a cart, and the little king was placed in it. On the way, the infant was often taken out and placed back in. An infant’s weight corresponds perfectly with the pressure estimated by Gyergyai. In addition, the first repairs made to the Holy Crown correspond to the methods used around 1440." (Magyar news)
Top left is guilloche window.
On the background, above, are repeated denomination 200. Lower, are repeater abbreviation of Hungarian bank "MNB".
Denominations in numerals are at the top and bottom right. In center in words.
Revers:
The engraving on banknote is based after this paint by Telepy Károly (1828-1906) "The Ruins of Diósgyőr Castle", 1860. Oil on canvas, size 53 x 79 cm. Today is in Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest.
The Castle of Diósgyőr is a medieval castle in the historical town of Diósgyőr which is now part of the Northern Hungarian city Miskolc.
The first castle of Diósgyőr was built probably in the 12th century and was destroyed during the Mongol invasion (1241-42). The current, Gothic castle was built after the invasion and reached the peak of its importance during the reign of King Louis the Great (1342-1382). Later it became a wedding gift for the queens of Hungary, which it remained until the Ottoman invasion of Hungary in the 16th century. By the end of the 1600s it was already in ruins. Archaeological excavations started in the 1960s. In 2014 the castle was completely rebuilt, the reconstructed rooms are furnished with Mediaeval-style furniture.
The first castle was built in the XII century, it is likely that it was an earthwork and timber castle and was destroyed during the Mongol invasion (1241-1242.) The castle that stands today was probably built by King Béla IV, who, after the Mongols left the country, ordered a castle to be built on every hilltop. In the earliest times the castle was an oval structure with a rounded donjon, surrounded by a polygonal outer wall. In 1316 it was mentioned as "new castle", which confirms the theory that it was built in place of a destroyed castle. Judging from a document listing the taxes paid by towns in 1330 it seems the town around the castle was one of the richest towns of the county.
It had its prime during the reign of Louis I (Louis the Great). Its importance lay in standing near the road leading to Poland (the mother of Louis the Great, Elizabeth Lokietkówna, was a Polish princess; Louis himself became King of Poland in 1370.) The king had the castle rebuilt and modernised. Surrounded by several walls, the inner castle was built around a rectangular courtyard, and it had four towers, one on each corner. On the first floor were the storerooms and on the second floor were the rooms and the Knights' Hall, which was 25 meters long and 13 meters wide. The modernising of the castle was finished under the reign of Louis' daughter Mary. The castle was surrounded by a 4 meters deep moat.
In 1364 the nearby town Miskolc was annexed to the Diósgyőr estate. In 1381 the Peace Treaty of Turin was signed in the castle of Diósgyőr. In the treaty the Italian town of Venice was compelled to raise the flag of the Anjou dynasty on the St. Mark square every Sunday. In the north-eastern tower of the castle there is a waxworks exhibition showing the wax figures of King Louis and the Venetian envoy.
Diósgyőr lost some of its importance when the personal union between Hungary and Poland ended (Louis shared the two countries between his two daughters Mary and Jadwiga.) For the next few centuries the castle was a holiday residence for queens. The last queen owning the castle was Maria, wife of Louis II. She gave up the castle formally in 1546 (by this time it had been occupied by the ruling prince of Transylvania.)
When the Ottoman army began to occupy the southern territories of Hungary, the castle was fortified. Its owners, the Gyarmati Balassa family turned it into a large fortress, and they had an Italian-style rondelle built to the north-western tower. The slim turrets were replaced by strong bastions. This was the last time the castle was rebuilt; after 1564 the owners changed frequently, and the castle slowly deteriorated. In 1596 the Ottoman army occupied the Castle of Eger and defeated the Christian army at Mezőkeresztes. The castle of Diósgyőr fell too; it was built to be a holiday residence and was never intended to be a large fortress that withstands the siege of a foreign army. From this time Diósgyőr was under Ottoman occupation and the area was ruled by the Pasha of Eger until 1687 when this part of the country was freed from Turkish rule. By this time the castle lost all of its military importance.
Top right are three squares for the visually impaired.
On the background are repeated inscription "200 Forint".
In lower right corner are repeated inscription "Magyar Nemzeti Bank".
Denominations in numerals are at the top and bottom. Top left also in words.
Comments:
Circulated from 1 of May 1998 till 15 of November 2009.
Obverse engraver: Vagyoczki Karoly Del. Et.SC.
Reverse engraver: Pálinkás György
Security options on banknote:
Intaglio printing
Security thread, with abbreviation of Hungarian National Bank
Micro-writing
Watermark (mirror image)
Ultraviolet fluorescent fibers
Ultraviolet fluorescent numbers
Hidden image (NBH)
Mating seen through image (H)
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