2019-07-23 Tue

On 9th July, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank of Hungary released a new rectangular collector coin to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Kalman Kando, the great engineer who invented the concept of electric railway traction. It’s the 12th coin of a famous series called “Hungarian Scientists and Inventors”.

The coins were produced by the Mint of Hungary, designed by goldsmith Balazs Bito in Budapest for the National Bank of Hungary. The obverse side depicts a portrait of Kalman Kando along with other inscriptions like KANDO KALMAN, 1869 – 1931 and designer’s initials. The reverse side depicts a MAV Class V40 electric locomotive, designed by Kalman Kando with a grainy background like data tables on old locomotives. Other inscriptions include 2000 FORINT, 2019, mintmark BP., and MAGYARORSZAG.

The Brilliant Uncirculated version of the 14 grams 2,000 forint Cupro-nickel coin has a dimension of 28.4 x 28.4 millimetres and a mintage limit of 4,000. The proof version of the same coin has a mintage limit of 6,000 pieces. The coin is packaged in a capsule and comes along with a certificate of authenticity. Extra charges would be applied for the presentation case.

Kando developed the high-voltage three-phase AC Industrial motors for traction and the rotary phase converter. His inventions were first applied to develop electric traction of the Valtellina railway in Italy, the first AC high-voltage railway in the world. His revolutionary invention made rail transport faster, safer, and more environmentally friendly.

Image Courtesy: National Bank of Hungary