Horses
Hungary - 5 Korona

Owner Comments:

Purchased on 5/2/3013.

This is a lovely coin commemorating the 1000th anniversary of the leading of the Hungarian peoples to the Carpathian basin (present-day Hungary). The reverse of the coin shows Árpád on horseback (c. 840 – c. 907). He was the second Grand Prince of the Hungarians (Magyars) from around 895 until his death in 907. Under his rule the Hungarian people settled in the Carpathian basin of current-day Hungary, and his descendants ruled the Principality of Hungary and later the Kingdom of Hungary until 1301.

The thousand years of history between 896 and 1896 were a tumultuous and ever-changing time in Hungarian identity. In the 10th century, the kingdom transitioned to a Christian state, Saint Stephen I being crowned the first King of Hungary during that time. Hungary boasted one of the most highly respected and effective military presences in the region, though they were not without their own struggles. In the mid 13th century an invasion by the Mongols dealt a blow to the Hungarian kingdom, killing almost half of the then 2,000,000 population. Such ups and down persisted in the region through World War II, communist Hungary from 1947-1989, to the modern day parliamentary republic of Hungary (known as the Third Republic of Hungary).