2017-10-25 Wed

An Augustinian monk, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany on 31st October 1517 triggering the Protestant Reformation. The 500th anniversary of this Reformation will be celebrated by the National Bank of Hungary by releasing a Brilliant Uncirculated copper-nickel 2,000-forint piece and a Proof .925 fine silver 10,000-forint coin.

Luther challenged the Catholic Church on the forgiveness of sins. He said that not the pope but only God can forgive sins. He also condemned the act of selling indulgences. The Protestant Reformation gained popularity very quickly. The Reformation gained momentum in Hungary by the middle of the century. It greatly helped in developing Hungarian language and literature. According to his new ideology, everyone should have access to the Bible in their native language. New centres of culture were developed, and the first full Hungarian version of the Bible was released.

The obverse features the facade of a church with open doors. The sturdy walls of the church features a hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” composed by Martin Luther. The image of a dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit is depicted in the window above the door of the church. Rays from the open gates portray the Holy Spirit flowing out.

The reverse shows an open Bible on a windowsill, with the Greek letters alpha and omega for the beginning and the end. A dove flies over a bible in the window to depict that the Bible is understood only with the assistance of Holy Spirit. The text “500th Anniversary of the Reformation” appears on a ribbon-like bookmark. The mark of the sculptor, Robert Csikszentmihalyi, is also featured. Both coins have a mintage limit of 5,000 pieces. The 30.8 grams copper-nickel coin costs $19.75 while the 31.46 grams silver coin costs $59.75.