June 22, 2017 – Hungary’s commemorative coin presenting the Bükk National Park is the fourth coin issued in the series ‘National Parks in Hungary’. To mark the 40th anniversary of the Park’s foundation, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank is issuing a 10,000-forint silver and a 2,000-forint non-ferrous coin in 2017.
Hungary / 10,000 HUF / .925 silver / 31.46g / 38.61mm / Design: Gábor Kereszthury / Mintage: 5,000.
The coin’s designer, Gábor Kereszthury, wished to present the unique natural and cultural values of the park. The front of the coin bears the emblem of the National Park, the stemless carline thistle, while the back depicts Szeleta Cave, as seen from the interior.
Hungary / 2,000 HUF / Cu75Ni25 / 27g / 38.61mm / Design: Gábor Kereszthury / Mintage: 5,000.
Szeleta Cave was the first site in Hungary where prehistoric human artefacts were discovered: after the Ice Age, the caves were inhabited for tens of thousands of years by members of the ‘Szeleta’ culture, which left behind bayleaf-shaped spearheads and other implements. One of these spearheads found in the cave and dated to about 40,000 years ago features in the composition on the back of the coin, separate from the main motif.
The Valley of Lillafüred from Szeleta-tetö, in Summertime. Photo: Rodrigo / CC BY 2.5
On 1 January 1977, a large part of the Bükk mountains was declared a national park. Roughly 95% of the protected area is forested. The most common forest type in the Bükk mountains is turkey oak and oak, giving way to hornbeam-oak stands in higher regions and beech in areas above 600 meters. One forest reserve in the Bükk National Park (BNP) is the Old forest, which has beech trees 180-200 years old.
Extremely rare plants and animals live here, including the stemless carline thistle (carlina acaulis), which is also the emblem of the national park.
The mountains have been inhabited since pre-historic times, as evidenced by the finds of Neanderthal implements and bones in many of the caves.
The Directorate of the Bükk National Park is responsible for managing the protected natural values and areas, along with the areas protected under the Natura 2000 programme and international nature protection conventions. The world’s first cross-border geopark, the Novohrad-Nógrád Geopark, includes several protected natural areas. The goal of the geopark, which comprises 28 Slovak and 63 Hungarian settlements, is to preserve and present the geological, regional and cultural heritage of the area and its traditions.
For more information on this coin go to the website of the Hungarian Mint.
You can see some impressions of the Bükk National Park in this Youtube video.