50 Forint    (sold for $237.0)

1968, Hungary (Republic). Proof Gold 50 Forint (Otven) Coin. Mintage: 4.21gm!

Condition: Proof! Mint Years: 1968 Mintage: 5,105 pcs! Mint Place: Budapest (BP) Denomination: 50 Forint (Otven) References: Friedberg 626, Huszar 2371 (5,105 pcs!) KM-583 (the mintage number is wrong there!). R! Material: Gold (.900) Diameter: 20mm Weight: 4.21gm

Obverse: Head of Ignaz Semmeweis right. Designer's signature (REMÉNYI) in left field. Legend: MAGYAR NÉPKÖZTARSÁG * SEMMELWEIS * 1818-1865   Reverse: Star above shield on radiant background within wreath. Legend: ÖTVEN FORINT ******** BP / 1968 50  ********

Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (July 1, 1818 – August 13, 1865) was a Hungarian physician now known as   an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures. Described as the "savior of   mothers", Semmelweis discovered that the incidence of puerperal fever could be drastically cut by the use of hand disinfection in obstetrical clinics. Puerperal fever was common in mid-19th-century hospitals and often   fatal, with mortality at 10%–35%. Semmelweis postulated the theory of   washing with chlorinated lime solutions in 1847 while working in Vienna General Hospital's First Obstetrical Clinic, where doctors' wards had three times the mortality of midwives' wards. He published a book of his findings in Etiology, Concept and Prophylaxis of Childbed Fever.

Despite various publications of results where hand-washing reduced mortality to below 1%, Semmelweis's observations conflicted with the established   scientific and medical opinions of the time and his ideas were rejected   by the medical community. Some doctors were offended at the suggestion   that they should wash their hands and Semmelweis could offer no   acceptable scientific explanation for his findings. Semmelweis's   practice earned widespread acceptance only years after his death, when Louis Pasteur confirmed the germ theory and Joseph Lister practised and operated, using hygienic methods, with great success. In 1865, Semmelweis was committed to an asylum, where he died, ironically, of septicemia at age 47.