Nearly 80 years after its birth, one of the most important documents of 20th century Hungarian history has moved from the status of a letter to the status of an artifact, which will be preserved by the Money Museum.

The 21^st of May 2024, Budapest: the typewritten paper and its contents - now preserved in the Money Museum - is a significant banking historical relic associated with the Central Bank of Hungary, and as such a valuable contribution to fully understanding the history of the Gold Train.

During World War II, the German occupation forced the employees of the Central Bank to take action, and on the 23^rd of January in 1945 they evacuated the state's assets, including the 30 tonnes of gold on the Gold Train, to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Germans or the Soviets as spoils of war.

On arrival in Austria, the central bank's management contacted the US forces in the form of a formal letter, asking the commander to preserve these assets until the end of the war. It was Frigyes Tarnay, the Chief Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Hungary, who, together with his partner, delivered the letter to the US military command, risking his life.

Frigyes Tarnay jr. recently approached the Central Bank of Hungary to offer this document, which is not only an important relic of his family's history, but also of the history of the Central Bank of Hungary, which is 100 years old this year. As a result of the negotiations, Frigyes Tarnay's sons living abroad donated the letter to the Money Museum in a ceremony on the 21^st of May in 2024.

Although the existence and contents of the letter were already known to historians, as an original, single piece, it is an important historical document, as well as a banking history. It will undergo a conservation audit to determine how it will be restored.

The short film about the Gold Train can be viewed here: https://www.facebook.com/jegybank/videos/1930282247140579/