Mention the name Madonna to a certain section of society and they immediately think of the pop star who goes by the same name. However, to others it conjures up a religious image, especially when coupled with the words ‘and child’.
To the philatelic community ‘Madonna and Child’ draws the keen variety collector to the iconic 5,000-korona dark green and yellow green Madonna and Child printing error of 1923. There exists a small number of inverted centres and these are perhaps the rarest stamps of Hungary and one of the most sought after European inverts. Certainly, it always creates a swell of interest when it comes to market, and a very fine mint example was recently available at a David Feldman SA auction in Geneva.
According to the record books there was only one sheet issued of this error, and less than 100 examples recorded (used and unused), with at least 38
