2017-04-12 Wed

Hungary issued first of its only two 2107 gold coins celebrating the 775th birthday of St. Margaret who was the daughter of King Bela IV and Maria Laskarina. King Bela IV prayed for an end to atrocities caused in his country by its enemies and in return promised that his daughter would lead a religious life.

Beautiful Margaret never got married even though there were many eligible suitors making her a symbol of Christian love. Even though she was born in a royal family, she engaged herself in small work and wore simple clothes. She worked during days and prayed during nights. Some legends stated that Margaret could predict future, which helped solve her father’s diplomatic problems. She died at the Dominican monastery on Margaret Island and her tomb was carved from red marble with some white marble parts around 1271. Her older brother, Stephen V (1270–1272), asked for her canonization due to the miracles said to have occurred at her tomb which King Matthias supported. The Catholic Church declared Margaret a saint hundreds of years later. Veneration of Margaret was officially allowed in Hungary in 1789, and Pope Pius XII made her a saint on 19th November 1943. Today, Margaret Island, in the Danube River in central Budapest is the city's most popular recreation areas.

The coin comes in two varieties, a .986 6.982 g gold proof 50,000 forint with a mintage limit of 2,000 pieces, and a 4.20 g uncirculated quality copper-nickel-zinc 2,000 forint with a mintage limit of 5,000. The gold coin costs $550.00 and the other one costs $19.50. The obverse features the ruins of the Dominican monastery on St. Margaret Island. The reverse depicts features a portrait of St. Margaret, based on a fresco by Simone Martini in Assisi, Italy.