Károly Vagyóczky, the engraver of modern banknotes

Károly Vagyóczky, the engraver of modern banknotes
(1941–)

After finishing his art studies, Károly Vagyóczky worked as a copper engraver and graphic artist at the Banknote Printing Company from 1970. He made his mark not only in the banknote industry, but also in stamp making and other fields of applied graphics. He took over the position of his master, Zoltán Nagy, and became the Art Director of the Banknote Printing Company in 1978. Banknotes are considered to be his most famous creations.
Stamps came second, but were never considered secondary in his career. Like Zoltán Nagy, Károly Vagyóczky also has an amazing talent in portraiture. Therefore, portrait stamps predominate the stamps designed by him.
He included the portraits of István Széchenyi and Ferenc Deák not only on stamps, but also on banknotes. A comparison is noteworthy between his stamp depicting István Széchenyi, and the 5000 forint banknote, which he claimed to be the closest to his heart, also depicting Széchenyi, released at almost the same time. The same designer, the same historical figure, similar yet slightly different illustration. Just like in the case of the Ferenc Deák block issued in 2003 and the 20,000 forint banknote. On the reverse of the last 2000 forint millennium banknote he designed, he included a detail of the painting The Baptism of Vajk by Gyula Benczúr, which he also used on a souvenir sheet.
Károly Vagyóczky’s name is associated not only with the design of banknotes and stamps, but also with the design of the Balaton korona series, a regional substitute for the forint, which was not a currency in legal terms. You will also see a selection from this series in our exhibition.
Károly Vagyóczky is a reputable expert in the field of banknote and stamp design in Hungary and abroad. He is the successor of a genre that earned recognition throughout Europe thanks to Ferenc Helbing, Endre Horváth and Zoltán Nagy, and was further enhanced by Károly Vagyóczky and his students, the representatives of the Graphic Art School of the Banknote Printing Company.