Early this year I was able to purchase a very special collection of Horthy era Hungarian patterns for the 5 pengő denomination that included many design iterations for the 1943 issue. In studying these coins, I learned a lot about the development of this denomination over the 15 years it was produced; especially interesting was the design progression and significant changes in diameter. I will present this collection of patterns here with context relating to the business strikes and some history, in what I believe is the most logical order of emission. Próbaveret The Hungarian concept of a "Próbaveret" (literally trial strike) is similar to that of other European countries (for example the German probeprägung), however, it differs slightly from what US collectors might think of as a pattern. Prior to the production of a coin, trial strikes were almost always prepared as specimens for inspection by mint (or other government) officials for approval, and to serve as a physical record of the type for archival purposes. Many of the designs of the patterns in this collection are nearly identical to the business strikes, however, many of the designs were also modified in some way prior to the release of business strikes, indicating they were not approved in that form. In some cases a complete redesign of one of the faces was merited. In some cases only minor changes were made such as a date, a legend, or a single aspect of the design. In fewer cases still, the coin was not produced at all. For those coins, these patterns give a glimpse into the inner workings of the Hungarian mint. The Evolution of the 5 Pengő After a period of hyperinflation, Hungary's pengő monetary system replaced the korona system in 1926. The word pengő is an onomatopoeia for the sound of a ringing bell. The hope was that the word would evoke the sound of ringing silver and instill confidence in the new money. While the first coins in this system were produced in 1926, the 5 pengő denomination was not introduced until 1930 with the following coin commemorating Miklos Horthy. Hungary 1930BP 5 Pengő (Admiral Miklos Horthy) NGC MS64 25g .640 silver, 36mm x 2.9mm Mintage: 3.65 million 3.65 million of these coins were produced in 1930, and further issues of this denomination were not produced until 1938. A version of this coin with a different style bust was designed for 1938, however, this coin was ultimately not produced that year in favor of a different commemorative. Hungary 1938BP 5 Pengő (Admiral Miklos Horthy) Silver Pattern NGC AU Details - Cleaned 25g .640 silver, 36mm x 2.9mm This is a pattern of the Horthy 1939BP AR 5 pengő dated 1938. This is sometimes miscataloged as a circulating date but it is an unmarked pattern of which 60 specimens were struck. The mint produced a 5 pengő coin in 1938 featuring Saint Stephen to commemorate the 900th anniversary of his death instead of the Horthy issue. This issue is exceedingly rare, and some examples like this one may have seen actual circulation, similar to the US 1856 flying eagle cent. Of note, the mint’s earliest use of a “Próbaveret” mark to indicate a pattern did not occur until four years later in 1943, which is why this coin is unmarked. Hungary 1938BP 5 Pengő (Saint Stephen) NGC MS66 25g .640 silver, 36mm x 2.9mm Mintage: 600,000 This was the circulating commemorative produced in 1938 instead of the newer Horthy design shown above (though that coin would be instead produced in 1939). This Saint Stephen commemorative celebrated the 900th anniversary of the death of Saint Stephen, Hungary's first king. Of note, there are two different versions of patterns for this issue, though I only have later restrikes. Hungary 1939BP 5 Pengő (Miklos Horthy) NGC MS63 25g .640 silver, 36mm x 2.9mm Mintage: 407,800 This is the circulating commemorative of the new design that was proposed in 1938 but not produced for circulation until 1939. The specs are identical to the pattern above. Hungary 1942BP 5 Pengő (Admiral Miklos Horthy) Aluminum Pattern (4.43g, 31.85mm x 2.9mm) NGC MS61 This is a much smaller (4.43g, 31.85mm x 2.9mm) early aluminum iteration of what would become the 1943BP Horthy 5 pengő (for reference the business strike produced in 1943 was aluminum 6.1g, 36mm x 3.9mm, with a reeded edge). The obverse design of this pattern matches the obverse of the 1939BP Horthy 5 Pengő rather than the obverse used for the 75th birthday of Horthy issue in 1943, making it likely this was the first trial of an aluminum 5 Pengő with a reduced diameter and thickness as well as a reeded edge. This example does not bear a “Próbaveret” mark as they were not adopted for use to mark patterns until the following year. Hungary 1943BP 5 Pengő (Admiral Miklos Horthy) Proba-veret Aluminum Piedfort - Incuse Edge (6.93g, 33mm x 3.7mm) NGC MS63 Like the previous 1942 pattern, this iteration also uses the same reduced size design from the 1939 5 Pengő, however, the date has been changed to 1943. The planchet has a slightly increased diameter (6.93g, 33mm x 3.7mm), but the dies were not enlarged, resulting in an example with a wide rim. The planchet itself, while 3mm narrower than the eventual business strike, was also nearly a full gram heavier, making for a very thick example with the appearance of a piedfort. Unlike the 1942 example, this specimen has a decorative edge. The edge decoration is extremely interesting as it was most likely intended as a “sampler” for evaluation. It uses four different styles of edge decoration, each style covering a quarter of the edge, however, the edge is not well-struck and it is difficult to make out some of the decoration types. This is quite possibly the very first pattern to be produced by the Hungarian mint that bears a probaveret mark, though of note it is hyphenated as “Próba-Veret” on this example. Hungary 1943BP 5 Pengő (Admiral Miklos Horthy) Proba-veret Aluminum - Reeded Edge (4.73g, 32.81mm x 2.75mm) NGC MS61 Like the previous 1943 pattern of this coin, this iteration also uses a reduced size design from the 1939 5 Pengő, however, new dies have been produced to add space between the legend and the rim to produce a rim of normal thickness (4.73g, 32.81mm x 2.75mm). The diameter and thickness of the planchet were also reduced. As with the previous pattern, this coin is marked with a hyphenated “Próba-Veret”, however, unlike the previous pattern, this coin has a reeded edge. Hungary 1943BP 5 Pengő (Admiral Miklos Horthy) Probaveret Silver - Incuse Edge (20.90g, 33mm x 3.1mm) NGC MS60 On this example (20.90g, 33mm x 3.1mm), the bust of Horthy was reduced in size to accommodate the addition of the 75th birthday legend underneath his bust. As such this is the first example to feature an obverse design closer to the type of 1943 than to the type of 1939, however, unlike the 1943 business strike which was aluminum with a reeded edge, this coin was struck in silver with a decorative edge. I don't know if they were considering producing this coin in silver at the reduced size instead of making the change to aluminum, or if this was just struck in silver for presentation purposes for evaluators. In support of it being a presentation piece, the two silver iterations (this one and the following pattern) when examined together serve as examples of all styles used in the 1943 design iterations: both small diameters (32.81mm and 33mm), both planchet thicknesses ignoring the piedfort (2.75mm and 3.1mm), and both edge styles. Either way, the mint continues to experiment with the size and thickness here. The edge decoration is extremely interesting as it was most likely intended as a decorative edge “sampler” for evaluation. It uses 4 different styles of edge decoration, each style covering a quarter of the edge, and it is well struck. Hungary 1943BP 5 Pengő (Admiral Miklos Horthy) Probaveret Silver - Reeded Edge (16.53g, 32.81mm x 2.75mm) NGC MS63 This second silver 5 Pengő pattern (16.53g, 32.81mm x 2.75mm) also features the obverse design of 1943, though in reduced size. It is struck in silver with a reeded edge. This example uses the same obverse die as the following pattern in this set. Again, as this was struck in silver, this may have been intended as a presentation piece for evaluating the design rather than a proposed composition change. Hungary 1943BP 5 Pengő (Admiral Miklos Horthy) Probaveret Aluminum - Reeded Edge (5.50g, 32.81mm x 3.1mm) NGC MS64 This 5 Pengő iteration (5.50g, 32.81mm x 3.1mm) uses the same obverse die as the previous reeded edge silver pattern, though it is struck in aluminum with a thicker planchet. It may be that this design and size was selected from the designs struck in silver, and it was correspondingly struck on an aluminum planchet.
Hungary 1943BP 5 Pengő (Admiral Miklos Horthy) Probaveret Aluminum - Reeded Edge (6.15g, 36.26mm x 2.7mm) NGC MS64 This 5 Pengő pattern (6.15g, 36.26mm x 2.7mm) looks the most like the 1943 business strike and has the same weight, however, it is slightly larger and noticeably thinner, with a higher relief. The spacing of the font in the legends on the obverse is also different than on the business strike. Hungary 1943BP 5 Pengő (Admiral Miklos Horthy) (6g, 26mm x 2.6mm) NGC MS66 Mintage: 2 million This is an example of the final 1943 business strike produced in aluminum with a reeded edge. It is very similar to the final version of the pattern above. Hungary 1945BP 5 Pengő (Parliament) Probaveret - Wheat Above Shield (4.67g, 32mm x 2.67mm) NGC MS63 This is a very early version of the 1945 Provisional Government 5 pengő with a reverse featuring the designer’s name (removed for the business strike) and a sheaf of wheat atop the Hungarian arms (replaced with the holy crown for the business strike). While the diameter is the same as the business strike, the planchet (4.67g, 32mm x 2.67mm) is slightly thicker (for comparison, the business strike is 4.5g and 2.58mm in thickness). Of note, the obverse die does not match the obverse próbaveret die used for the Artex Restrikes, which is from a later revision of this pattern that more closely matches the business strike. Hungary 1945BP 5 Pengő (Parliament) (4.5g 32mm x 2.6mm) NGC MS63 Mintage: 5.002 million This is the final version of the business strike produced in 1945. It is the sole coin produced by the Provisional Government of 1945 at the end of the war. Note the significant changes to the design of the reverse. There was an iteration of the pattern between the extremely rare wheat reverse and the final version, which looked like the business strike above except for the probaveret mark. Modern restrikes of that newer pattern are common.
Wow, that’s a lot of info. I know I have a nice St. Stephen and I just saw a Horthy in one of my books but I’ll need to check what year.
Thank you for a very interesting article on the Hungary 5 Pengo coins. I have had these four Hungary 5 Pengo coins since the 1960's. I never researched them except to find out who Admiral Horthy was. Hungary 5 Pengo 1930 Regency of Admiral Horthy Silver, 36.0 mm, 25.00 gm Hungary 5 Pengo 1938 Proof Death of St. Stephen Silver, 37.0 mm, 25.08 gm Hungary 5 Pengo 1939 Admiral Horthy Birthday Silver, 37.0 mm, 24.91 gm Hungary 5 Pengo 1943 Proof Admiral Horthy Birthday Aluminum, 36.0 mm, 6.1 gm
Very nice. That's all four of the Horthy issued 5P. There's only the 1945 issue that you're missing, but it's a smaller coin. I wish there was a good way to show the size differences in these patterns easily. Maybe I'll post a group shot. It's one thing to read the diameter but when I received these, the size difference was quite striking.
