New forint coins are poised to be introduced, featuring Nobel-prize laureates Karikó and Krausz

The Hungarian National Bank will issue two new silver and non-ferrous metal coins this year.

According to Infóstart, the national bank intends to commemorate the 220th birthday of Ferenc Deák, known as ‘The Wise Man of the Nation’, and the 300th anniversary of the foundation of the Kúria with this move. These two coins will be crafted from non-ferrous metals. Additionally, the national bank plans to issue two more silver coins to honour the Hungarian Nobel laureates, Katalin Karikó and Ferenc Krausz.

Karikó, a Hungarian biochemist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine, alongside Drew Weissman, for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. Meanwhile, Krausz received the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics ‘for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter,’ alongside Pierre Agostini and Anne L’Huillier. The last time a Hungarian or Hungarian-born individual received the Nobel Prize was in 2002 when Imre Kertész was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his work, ‘Fatelessness’ (Sorstalanság).

With over 20 years having passed since a Hungarian last received the Nobel Prize, the nation was delighted to learn that two Hungarian scientists have received this honour. Katalin Karikó now occupies the former workplace of Nobel laureate Albert Szent-Györgyi (1937 – medicine) at the Molecular and Analytical Chemistry lab at Szeged University.

Katalin Karikó at Szeged University, in the former room of Nobel laureate Albert Szent-Györgyi. Photo: MTI

National bank celebrates Hungarian Nobel laureates with new forint coins

Eszter Hergár, the National Bank’s Director of Social Relations, talked about the upcoming silver forint coins that will commemorate the remarkable achievements of the two Hungarian scientists.

Mrs Hergár mentioned that they intend to produce 5,000 coins to honour Ferenc Deák and the Kúria. Meanwhile, 20,000 coins will be dedicated to celebrating Karikó and Krausz. They anticipate that the new coins will sell rapidly, as was the case with the earlier collection featuring Hungarian dog breeds.

Mrs Hergár revealed that negotiations are already underway regarding the new Nobel laureate coins, which will be oval in shape. This series began with Albert Szent-Györgyi in 2012, and in 2022, coins were issued in honour of Imre Kertész, while György Oláh’s coin is currently in the design phase.

Interestingly, this will not be the first coin featuring Karikó. In 2022, the MNB issued a silver coin (HUF 15,000) and a commemorative coin (HUF 3,000) to celebrate Karikó for her mRNA-based vaccines. These coins had a rectangular shape.

The director added that experience has shown an increasing interest from people in acquiring such coins, including gold ones. Some purchase them as investments, while others add them to their collections.

The last time we reported on the introduction of new forint coins in Hungary was in September, you can read about it HERE. Click HERE to learn more about the new ‘National Archives’ coin.”