On Wednesday the Hungarian National Bank (MNB), announced a commemorative silver golden-edged and non-ferrous metal version of the coins which also pays respects to the outstanding achievements of Hungarian sporting history: the first Olympic gold medals won by Hungarians at the summer and winter games – writes the MTI. The commemorative coins were designed by the artist Andrea Horváth.

The statement recalls that Hungary was an active participant in the early days of the modern Olympic movement in 1894. The Hungarian Olympic Committee was the sixth national committee to be established a year later, on December 19, 1895.

Front of the commemorative coin for the Hungarian Olympic Committee, silver (Photo: mnb.hu)

Front of the commemorative coin of the Hungarian Olympic Committee, non-ferrous metal (Photo: mnb.hu)

Hungary has won a total of 177 gold, 151 silver and 174 bronze medals at the modern Summer and Winter Olympics. The country's first Olympic gold was won by the swimmer Alfred Hajós in Athens in 1896, while the most recent one, the first Hungarian gold medal at the winter Olympics, was won in the men's short track speed skating relay (Csaba Burján, Viktor Knoch, Liu Shaoang and Sándor Liu Shaolin) in 2018, in Pyongyang. The front of the coins commemorate the former, and the backs the latter achievement.

Back of the commemorative coin for the Hungarian Olympic Committee, silver (Photo: mnb.hu)

Back of the commemorative coin of the Hungarian Olympic Committee, non-ferrous metal (Photo: mnb.hu)

The MNB emphasizes that the primary role of the commemorative coins is to disseminate knowledge, recognize the achievements of Hungarian athletes, and set role models. Their use in everyday transactions should be avoided, and their denominations serve to preserve their collector value.

The silver and non-ferrous metal versions are minted with the same design but different denominations. The coins also differ in the fact that the edges of the silver coins are decorated with a golden border, reinforcing their theme. The non-ferrous versions are a uniform metallic colour. Both commemorative coins have a diameter of 38.61 millimetres, and 5,000 copies can be made of both versions – reads the announcement. Following Wednesday's announcement, the silver version can be purchased in the coin shop and webshop of Magyar Pénzverő Zrt. for three months and the non-ferrous commemorative coin for one year at face value.

Source: MTI

Cover photo: The Hungarian National Bank issues commemorative coin to honour the 125th anniversary of the Hungarian Olympic Committee's founding (Photo: mnb.hu)