King Matthias

At the proposal of the Association of Transylvanian Men, the postal administration issued a five-stamp commemorative set on 1 July 1940 to mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of King Matthias. A commemorative souvenir sheet followed on 7 November 1940. Both issues were designed by Gyula Tóth.
The stamps carried a 50% surcharge, while the 20-fillér souvenir sheet carried a surcharge of 1 pengő. The proceeds were used by the postal administration to support the “For Transylvania” movement.
An interesting detail is that we now know Matthias Hunyadi was born in 1443, whereas history books in the early 20th century still gave 1440 as his year of birth. This uncertainty was still reflected in postal issues in the early 1990s. The problem was neatly sidestepped by issuing King Matthias stamps in both 1990 and 1993—ensuring that the 550th anniversary did not pass without a stamp.