Description: Holy Crown of St. Stephen illuminated by rays of light, symbolic of Hungary's Christian monarchy. Architectural silhouettes in background. 20 F Denomination with bold cancel. Inscription MAGYAR KIR. POSTA KONTULY. Brown color (varies from reddish-brown to chestnut). Designed by Bela Kontuly.
Circa: Mid Century
Condition: Used; circular bold cancel obscuring the value, but otherwise clean detail and strong color.
Notes:
During World War II, the crown was spirited out of Hungary to protect it from the Germans and the Soviets. On May 2, 1945, the Holy Crown and other jewels were handed over by a Hungarian Army Colonel to a U.S. Army Colonel near Egglesberg, Austria. The Crown had been packed in a large black satchel. It was initially sheltered in Wiesbaden, in the American Zone, but was later transferred to the United States Gold Reserve at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. It was not considered as spoils of war; rather, the U.S. Government stored it in hopes of returning it to the Hungarian people one day.
The decision by President Jimmy Carter to return the Crown in 1978 was a controversial one, and one which took political courage. President Carter made his decision based on the evidence that Hungary's record on human rights, its tolerance of religious expression, its facilitating of travel and communication, while not perfect, deserved recognition as an example to other Soviet-bloc countries. Many people on both sides of the Atlantic adamantly opposed the return of the Crown at a time when Hungary was still under Communist rule. Carter felt that it was only right that the Crown be returned before a whole generation of Hungarians came of age without understanding its symbolism. After all, he said, the Crown belonged to the Hungarian people.