# Banknotes of the Hungarian forint

Hungarian forint paper money (Hungarian: forint papírpénz) is part of the physical form of the current Hungarian currency, the Hungarian forint. The forint paper money consists exclusively of banknotes. During its history, denominations ranging from 10 to 20,000 forints were put into circulation in correspondence with the inflation which raised needs for higher denominations. Recently, commemorative banknotes were issued as well.

## 1946 Banknotes

In 1946, the first series of forint banknotes were put into circulation with the denominations of 10 Ft and 100 Ft. As a consequence of their poor quality (offset printing), many counterfeit appeared in a short time.
1946 Series :
| Image | Image | Value | Dimensions | Main Colour | Description | Description | Date of | Date of | Date of | Date of |
| Obverse | Reverse | Value | Dimensions | Main Colour | Obverse | Reverse | printing | issue | withdrawal | lapse |
| | | 10 Ft | 155 × 71 mm | Dark green | Mihály Pfeffer, a pressman at the Banknote Printing Office, posed for the illustration | Coat of arms | 3 June 1946 | 1 August 1946 | 31 March 1948 | 31 March 1948 |
| | | 100 Ft | 158 × 72 mm | Dark blue | Mrs. János Tőkés (Ms. Gizella Várszegi), an employee of the Banknote Printing Office, posed for the illustration | Hands holding a hammer and ears of wheat | 3 June 1946 | 7 August 1946 | 1 May 1951 | 31 December 1948 |
| These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table. |||||||||||

## 1947 Series

From 1947, a second series of banknotes were designed and put into circulation. These banknotes were printed until 1996 with different coat of arms.
1947 Series :
| Image | Image | Value | Dimensions | Main Colour | Description | Description | Date of | Date of | Date of | Date of |
| Obverse | Reverse | Value | Dimensions | Main Colour | Obverse | Reverse | first printing | issue | withdrawal | lapse |
| Kossuth's coat of arms |||||||||||
| | | 10 Ft | 166 × 72 mm | Green | Sándor Petőfi (1823–1849) | János Jankó's painting: "Riverside scene" | 27 February 1947 | 25 July 1947 | 30 September 1992 | 31 December 1993 |
| | | 20 Ft | 166 × 72 mm | Blue | György Dózsa (1470–1514) | Male nude (posing: pentathlete István Hegedűs) with hammer and ear of wheat | 27 February 1947 | 1 August 1948 | 30 September 1992 | 31 December 1993 |
| | | 100 Ft | 166 × 72 mm | Red | Lajos Kossuth (1802–1894) | Károly Lotz's painting: "Flight from the thunderstorm" | 27 February 1947 | 14 August 1948 | 31 December 1998 | 31 December 1999 |
| Rákosi's coat of arms |||||||||||
| | | 10 Ft | 166 × 72 mm | Green | Sándor Petőfi | János Jankó's painting: "Riverside scene" | 24 October 1949 | 1 July 1950 | 30 September 1992 | 31 December 1993 |
| | | 20 Ft | 166 × 72 mm | Blue | György Dózsa | Male nude (posing: pentathlete István Hegedűs) note | 24 October 1949 | 1 July 1950 | 30 September 1992 | 31 December 1993 |
| | | 50 Ft | 166 × 72 mm | Brown | Portrait of Ferenc II Rákóczi (1676–1735) by Ádám Mányoki | Unknown painter: "Kuruc-labanc battle scene" | 1 September 1951 | 13 June 1953 | 30 June 1996 | 31 December 1996 |
| | | 100 Ft | 166 × 72 mm | Red | Lajos Kossuth | Károly Lotz's painting: "Flight from the thunderstorm" | 24 October 1949 | 1 July 1950 | 31 December 1998 | 31 December 1999 |
| Kádár's coat of arms |||||||||||
| | | 10 Ft | 166 × 72 mm | Green | Sándor Petőfi | János Jankó's painting: "Riverside scene" | 23 May 1957 | 27 October 1959 | 30 September 1992 | 31 December 1993 |
| | | 20 Ft | 166 × 72 mm | Blue | György Dózsa | Male nude (posing: pentathlete István Hegedűs) with hammer and ear of wheat | 23 May 1957 | 8 November 1960 | 30 September 1992 | 31 December 1993 |
| | | 50 Ft | 166 × 72 mm | Brown | Portrait of Ferenc II Rákóczi by Ádám Mányoki | Unknown painter: "Kuruc-labanc battle scene" | 3 September 1965 | 15 June 1966 | 30 June 1996 | 31 December 1996 |
| | | 100 Ft | 166 × 72 mm | Red | Lajos Kossuth | Károly Lotz's painting: "Flight from the thunderstorm" | 23 May 1957 | 20 March 1959 | 31 December 1998 | 31 December 1999 |
| | | 500 Ft | 174 × 80 mm | Violet | Endre Ady (1877–1919) | View of Budapest | 30 June 1969 | 21 August 1970 | 31 August 1999 | 31 August 2019 |
| | | 1000 Ft | 174 × 80 mm | Light green | Béla Bartók | Ferenc Medgyessy's sculpture: "Mother with her child" | 25 March 1983 | 27 June 1983 | 31 August 1999 | 31 August 2019 |
| Recent coat of arms |||||||||||
| | | 100 Ft | 166 × 72 mm | Red | Lajos Kossuth | Károly Lotz's painting: "Flight from the thunderstorm" | 15 January 1992 | 1 July 1992 | 31 December 1998 | 31 December 1999 |
| | | 500 Ft | 174 × 80 mm | Violet | Endre Ady | View of Budapest | 31 July 1990 | 6 April 1992 | 31 August 1999 | 31 August 2019 |
| | | 1000 Ft | 174 × 80 mm | Light green | Béla Bartók (1881–1945) | Ferenc Medgyessy's sculpture: "Mother with her child" | 30 October 1992 | 5 November 1993 | 31 August 1999 | 31 August 2019 |
| | | 5000 Ft | 174 × 80 mm | Orange-brown | Portrait of Count István Széchenyi (1791–1860) by Friedrich Amerling | The Hungarian Academy of Sciences building | 31 July 1990 | 25 March 1991 | 26 July 1999 | 26 July 2019 |
| These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table. |||||||||||

## 1997 series

Between 1997 and 2001, a new series of banknotes were issued with improved security features. The notes share the common size of 154 × 70 mm. The banknotes are printed by the Hungarian Banknote Printing Corp. in Budapest on paper manufactured by the Diósgyőr Papermill in Miskolc.
The Hungarian National Bank has announced the withdrawal of the 1000 forint notes issued prior to 2006. This affects the 1000 forint note from the current series, but without the red metallic strip on the obverse side, i.e. also the Millennium issue. These notes remained in circulation until August 31, 2007. After this period, the note may be refused for payment. However, commercial banks may exchange these notes thereafter. The Hungarian National Bank will continue to exchange these notes for twenty years, until August 31, 2027.
The 200 forint notes were replaced with a new 200 forint coin in 2009. (The silver 200 forint coins that were in circulation until 1998 did not see much use at that time.)
1997 series :
| Image | Image | Value | Dimensions | Main Colour | Description | Description | Date of | Date of | Date of | Date of |
| Obverse | Reverse | Value | Dimensions | Main Colour | Obverse | Reverse | first printing | issue | withdrawal | lapse |
| | | 200 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | green | King Charles Robert (1288–1342) | Castle of Diósgyőr | 1998 | 1 May 1998 | 15 November 2009 | 15 November 2029 |
| | | 200 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | green | King Charles Robert (1288–1342) | Castle of Diósgyőr | 2001 | 2001 | 15 November 2009 | 15 November 2029 |
| | | 500 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | orange and brown | Prince sovereign Ferenc II Rákóczi (by Ádám Mányoki) | Castle of Sárospatak | 1998 | 1 December 1998 | 31 October 2019 | 31 October 2039 |
| | | 500 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | orange and brown | Prince sovereign Ferenc II Rákóczi (by Ádám Mányoki) | Castle of Sárospatak | 2001 | 1 February 2001 | 31 October 2019 | 31 October 2039 |
| | | 500 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | orange and brown | Prince sovereign Ferenc II Rákóczi (by Ádám Mányoki) | Castle of Sárospatak | 2007 | 15 April 2009 | 31 October 2019 | 31 October 2039 |
| | | 1,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | blue | King Matthias Corvinus (1443–1490) | the Hercules Fountain from the Castle of Visegrád | 1998 | 1 September 1998 | 31 August 2007 | 31 August 2027 |
| | | 1,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | blue | King Matthias Corvinus (1443–1490) | the Hercules Fountain from the Castle of Visegrád | 2002 | 2002 | 31 August 2007 | 31 August 2027 |
| | | 1,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | blue | King Matthias Corvinus (1443–1490) | the Hercules Fountain from the Castle of Visegrád | 2005 | 10 April 2006 | 31 October 2018 | 31 October 2038 |
| | | 2,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | brown | Prince sovereign Gábor Bethlen (1580–1629) | Viktor Madarász' painting "Gábor Bethlen among his scientists" | 1998 | 1 February 1998 | 31 July 2017 | 31 July 2037 |
| | | 2,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | brown | Prince sovereign Gábor Bethlen (1580–1629) | Viktor Madarász' painting "Gábor Bethlen among his scientists" | 2002 | 2002 | 31 July 2017 | 31 July 2037 |
| | | 5,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | violet and green | Count István Széchenyi (by Friedrich Amerling) | the Széchenyi Mansion in Nagycenk | 1999 | 1 April 1999 | 31 July 2017 | 31 July 2037 |
| | | 5,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | violet and green | Count István Széchenyi (by Friedrich Amerling) | the Széchenyi Mansion in Nagycenk | 2005 | 2005 | 31 July 2017 | 31 July 2037 |
| | | 10,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | red and blue | King Stephen I (975–1038) | view of Esztergom by Hubert Sattler | 1997 | 1 July 1997 | 31 December 2019 | 31 December 2039 |
| | | 10,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | red and blue | King Stephen I (975–1038) | view of Esztergom by Hubert Sattler | 1998 | 1998 | 31 December 2019 | 31 December 2039 |
| | | 10,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | red and blue | King Stephen I (975–1038) | view of Esztergom by Hubert Sattler | 2001 | 2001 | 31 December 2019 | 31 December 2039 |
| | | 10,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | red and blue | King Stephen I (975–1038) | view of Esztergom by Hubert Sattler | 2008 | 8 September 2008 | 31 December 2019 | 31 December 2039 |
| | | 20,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | grey and reddish | Ferenc Deák (1803–1876) | the old House of Representatives in Pest | 1999 | 1 February 2001 | 31 December 2017 | 31 December 2037 |
| | | 20,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | grey and reddish | Ferenc Deák (1803–1876) | the old House of Representatives in Pest | 2004 | 2004 | 31 December 2017 | 31 December 2037 |
| | | 20,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | grey and reddish | Ferenc Deák (1803–1876) | the old House of Representatives in Pest | 2009 | 2009 | 31 December 2017 | 31 December 2037 |
| These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table. |||||||||||
Recent Series – commemorative issues :
| Image | Image | Value | Dimensions | Main Colour | Description | Description | Description | Date of | Date of | Date of | Date of |
| Obverse | Reverse | Value | Dimensions | Main Colour | Obverse | Reverse | Commemorative subject | first printing | issue | withdrawal | lapse |
| | | 500 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | orange and brown | Prince sovereign Ferenc II Rákóczi (by Ádám Mányoki) | The Hungarian Parliament Building and the Hungarian Revolution flag of 1956 | 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 | 2006 | 20 October 2006 | 31 October 2019 | 31 October 2039 |
| | | 1000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | blue | King Matthias Corvinus | the Hercules Fountain from the Castle of Visegrád | Millennium | 2000 | 1 November 2000 | 31 August 2007 | 31 August 2027 |
| | | 2000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | brownish | the Holy Crown of Hungary | Gyula Benczúr's painting: "Baptism of Vajk" | Millennium of the state establishment | 20 August 2000 | 20 August 2000 | current | current |
| These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table. ||||||||||||

## 2014 series

Beginning in 2014, the Hungarian National Bank issued a revised series of forint banknotes, featuring the same themes as its previous issues, but containing advanced security features. The first banknote issued for this series, the 10,000 forint, was issued into general circulation on 2 September 2014, followed by the 20,000 forint banknote on 25 September 2015, the 2,000 and 5,000 forint banknotes on 1 March 2017, the 1,000 forint banknote on 1 March 2018 and the 500 forint banknote on 1 February 2019.
2014 Series :
| Image | Image | Value | Dimensions | Main Colour | Description | Description | Date of | Date of | Date of | Date of |
| Obverse | Reverse | Value | Dimensions | Main Colour | Obverse | Reverse | first printing | issue | withdrawal | lapse |
| | | 500 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | red | Prince sovereign Ferenc II Rákóczi (by Ádám Mányoki) | Castle of Sárospatak | 2018 | 1 February 2019 | current | current |
| | | 1,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | blue | King Matthias Corvinus | the Hercules Fountain from the Castle of Visegrád | 2017 | 1 March 2018 | current | current |
| | | 2,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | brown | Prince sovereign Gábor Bethlen | Viktor Madarász' painting "Gábor Bethlen among his scientists" | 2016 | 1 March 2017 | current | current |
| | | 5,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | yellow | Count István Széchenyi (by Friedrich Amerling) | the Széchenyi Mansion in Nagycenk | 2016 | 1 March 2017 | current | current |
| | | 10,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | purple | King Stephen I | view of Esztergom by Hubert Sattler | 2014 | 2 September 2014 | current | current |
| | | 20,000 Ft | 154 × 70 mm | green | Ferenc Deák | the old House of Representatives in Pest | 2015 | 25 September 2015 | current | current |
| These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table. |||||||||||