Hungarian forint facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hungarian forint
Hungarian forint banknotes
ISO 4217 Code	HUF
User(s)	Hungary
Inflation	3.8% (January 2024)
Method	CPI
Subunit
1⁄100	fillér (defunct)
Symbol	Ft
Plural	forintok (nominative only)
Coins
Freq. used	5 Ft, 10 Ft, 20 Ft, 50 Ft, 100 Ft, 200 Ft
Banknotes	500 Ft, 1,000 Ft, 2,000 Ft, 5,000 Ft, 10,000 Ft, 20,000 Ft
Printer	Hungarian Banknote Printing Company

The forint (its sign is Ft; its code is HUF) is the money used in Hungary. It used to be divided into 100 fillér, but fillér coins are no longer used. The forint was introduced on 1 August 1946. This was a very important step to make the Hungarian economy stable after World War II.

The forint stayed quite stable until the 1980s. In the early 1990s, Hungary started to have a market economy. This change made the forint's value go down. Inflation, which is when prices go up, reached 35% in 1991. From 2001 to 2022, inflation was low. The forint can now be freely exchanged for other currencies. In May 2022, inflation went up to 10.7% because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other economic problems.

Hungary is part of the European Union. The government might want to replace the forint with the euro one day. However, there is no set date for this change right now.

History of the Forint

Forint coin from the time of Louis I of Hungary (1342–1382).

Forint coin from the time of Matthias Corvinus of Hungary (1458–1490).

The name forint comes from the city of Florence in Italy. Gold coins called fiorino d'oro were made there starting in 1252. In Hungary, a gold coin called the florentinus (later forint) was used from 1325. This happened under King Charles Robert. Many other countries also started using similar coins.

Between 1868 and 1892, the word forint was used in Hungarian for the money of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In German, this money was called the Gulden. It was divided into 100 krajczár.

Reintroducing the Forint

The forint was brought back on 1 August 1946. This happened after the old money, the pengő, became almost worthless. This was due to a huge hyperinflation in 1945–46. This was the highest inflation ever recorded. It happened because of things like high demands for payments from the USSR. Also, the Soviet Union took many things from Hungarian industries. Hungary's gold money was also held in the United States.

The forint replaced the pengő at a very high rate. One forint was equal to 4×10²⁹ pengő. This meant 29 zeroes were removed from the old money. In reality, all the pengő money together was worth less than 1⁄1000 of a forint. The forint also replaced the adópengő at a rate of 1 forint to 200 million adópengő.

Historically, the forint was split into 100 fillér. This is like how a dollar is split into 100 cents. However, fillér coins are no longer used because of inflation. They have not been in circulation since 1999. Since 2000, one forint has been worth about half a US cent or less. The short way to write forint is Ft, placed after the number with a space. The short way for fillér was f.

When the forint first came out, its value was set by gold. One kilogram of pure gold was worth 13,210 Ft. This means 1 Ft was equal to about 75.7 milligrams of pure gold.

After it was introduced in 1946, the forint stayed stable for about 20 years. But then it started to lose its value. This happened as Hungary's state-controlled economy became less strong in the 1970s and 1980s. After Hungary became a democracy in 1989–90, the forint saw inflation of about 35% for three years. But new economic changes helped to make it stable again.

Forint Coins

In 1946, new coins were made. These included 2, 10, 20 fillérs, and 1, 2, 5 forints. A silver 5 forint coin was made again the next year, but it was later taken out of use. In 1948, 5 and 50 fillér coins were made. Later, a 5 forint coin came back in 1967. A 10 forint coin was added in 1971, and a 20 forint coin in 1982.

In 1992, a new set of coins was introduced. These were 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 forint coins. The 2 and 5 fillér coins stopped being made in 1992. All fillér coins were removed from use by 1999. From 1996, a two-colored 100 forint coin was made. This new coin replaced the 1992 version, which was thought to be too big and looked too much like the 20 forint coin.

The silver 200 forint coins were removed in 1998. This was because the value of the silver in them was more than the coin's face value. The 1 and 2 forint coins could be used until 29 February 2008. Now, when you pay with cash, the total price is usually rounded to the nearest 5 forint. A new 200 forint coin, made of a regular metal mix, was introduced on 15 June 2009. It replaced the 200 forint banknote.

Forint Banknotes

In 1946, the Hungarian National Bank introduced 10 and 100 forint banknotes. A new set of better quality banknotes came out in 1947 and 1948. These were 10, 20, and 100 forints. In 1953, 50 forint notes were added. Then, 500 forint notes came in 1970, 1,000 forints in 1983, and 5,000 forints in 1991.

A completely new design for banknotes was introduced between 1997 and 2001. These notes were for 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, and 20,000 forints. Each banknote shows a famous Hungarian leader or politician on the front. On the back, there is a place or event connected to them. All banknotes have a watermark and a security strip. They are also made to be used by people with poor eyesight. The 1,000 forint notes and higher values have a special holographic security strip. All banknotes are the same size: 154 mm × 70 mm (6.1 in × 2.8 in).

Special Banknotes and Changes

Special banknotes have also been made. For example, 1,000 and 2,000 forint notes were made in 2000 to celebrate the millennium. A 500-forint note was made in 2006 to remember the 50th anniversary of the 1956 revolution.

The 200-forint banknote was taken out of use in 2009. This was because its value had gone down over time. A two-metal 200-forint coin replaced it. This coin shows the famous Széchenyi Chain Bridge.

Making fake forint banknotes is not a big problem. However, sometimes fake 20,000 forint notes appear. These are often made by printing on 2,000 forint notes after removing the original ink. These can be hard to spot. The 1,000 forint note was also a target for fakers until its security features were improved in 2006.

Banknotes that are too old or worn out are removed from use. They are then destroyed and turned into briquettes. These briquettes are given to charities to be used for heating.

In 2014, a new, updated version of the 1997 banknote series started to be used. This began with the 10,000 Ft banknote in 2014 and finished with the 500 Ft banknote in 2019.

In 2022, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the value of the forint against the euro changed. For the first time, it took more than 400 forints to get 1 euro. This higher rate lasted until the end of 2022. The forint also became weaker against the US dollar. But in January 2023, the forint became stronger against the euro again. It also got much stronger against the US dollar in late 2022 and early 2023.

Current Exchange Rates

Images for kids

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  The cost of one Euro in forints (from 1999)

See also

• Economy of Hungary
• Hungary and the euro
• List of currencies in Europe