2022-04-06 Wed

Hungary Mint issued a copper-nickel 2,000-forint coin celebrating firefighter Kornel Szilvay and his invention, a dry fire extinguisher. This is the 10th issue in an annual series honoring Hungarian engineers and inventors and their innovations and inventions. The 2,000-forint coin was issued on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the birth of Kornel Szilvay.

Szilvay was one of the greatest figures in the history of Hungarian firefighting technology who recognized the shortcomings of fixed hose firefighting, he focused specifically on modernizing firefighting equipment. His invention was a fire extinguisher using an inert gas that was extremely effective with little collateral damage.

The coin designed by Balazs Bito features the workings of his most important invention, the dry fire extinguisher on a fire truck on the obverse, and a portrait of Szilvay is on the reverse. Szilvay died on 8th Sept 1957, leaving a rich legacy as one of Hungary’s most outstanding inventors and fire chiefs.

Image Courtesy: coinworld.com