The Vancouver Numismatic Society
This is a Hungarian banknote for one forint that might be mistaken for a legitimate, government issue. Then you notice that the printer, identified at the bottom right corner, is “Toppan, Carpenter, Casilear & Co.” of Philadelphia, USA. That is an odd choice for a European regime. The Hungarian text states that “This banknote is backed by the state at a nominal value of one silver forint (specifically, a twenty kreuzer piece).” On the left hand, the text is “All Hungarian public funds – or rather, the three of them – are accepted; public opinion is unanimous.” This exile series was issued with values of 1, 2 and 5 forints. These must be the “three” public funds. The central vignette shows the figure of Liberty stamping on a crowned man with the border inscription “She made it home” and “for freedom.” Tom Kovacs may want to comment on these translations. The texts make the banknote sound like an official issue.
The banknote is signed by Lajos Kossuth (1802-1894) but lacks a second manuscript signature and a date, indicating that it was an unissued remainder. Kossuth’s 1852 portrait accompanies this article. He was a Hungarian nationalist, a journalist, and a lawyer. He was also a democrat who opposed the Austrian Habsburg emperor who ruled Hungary. Kossuth led a rebellion in 1848 to establish an independent Hungarian republic. He was the Governor-President of the short-lived republic before it was crushed by the Austrian army. He fled into exile, first to the Ottoman Turkish lands, where he was imprisoned, but then released in September 1851. As a free man, he toured Europe, where he was hailed as a hero. His triumphal tour continued in the United States where he was described as “The Washington of Hungary.” Kossuth’s bust would later be placed in the Capitol at Washington, DC. Being a democrat concerned with human rights, Kossuth disapproved of slavery, which did not sit well with some Americans. As a passionate Hungarian nationalist, he expected the Slovaks and Romanians within Hungary to adopt the Hungarian language. The banknote belongs to the early 1850s when he wanted to rally immigrants in the USA to form an army of liberation. The note might have been intended for use in a freed Hungary, or it could have been sold as a fundraiser for a second rebellion.
Kossuth returned to Europe in 1852 and allied himself with other nationalists, such as the Italians who wanted to unify Italy. They were fighting against the Austrians, which pleased Kossuth. His long absence abroad cost him his status as a Habsburg subject, making it difficult for him to return home. In the Habsburg Empire, an 1867 Compromise made Hungary an equal partner with Austria and with its own parliament. That political concession weakened popular support for Kossuth. He would have been seen as a dangerous radical who was demanding too much. He remained in Italy, where he died in 1894, never to see his homeland again. His body, however, was repatriated for burial in Hungary.
A banknote of Kossuth, the Hungarian revolutionary by Peter N. Moogk