Catalog
1 Leu - Carol I
| Issuer | Romania |
|---|---|
| Year | 1873-1876 |
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| Currency | First leu (1867-1947) |
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| Obverse description | The crowned coat of arms of Romania occupies the central field, featuring a quartered shield with the eagle, bull's head, lion, and aurochs emblems, supported by two figures and surmounted by a princely crown. A ribbon banner below the shield bears the motto legend in two parts, with the date in large numerals at the bottom of the field and the engraver's signature to the lower left. The entire design is framed by a toothed border. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | NIHIL SINE DEO 1874 STERN (Translation: Nothing Without God 1874 Stern) |
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| Additional information |
Romania's first sovereign silver coinage was made possible by the Paris Monetary Convention of 1865, which Romania joined as an associate member of the Latin Monetary Union despite not yet being a fully independent state — that wouldn't come until 1877. Carol I, a Hohenzollern prince installed in 1866, pushed hard for a national currency as a deliberate assertion of political autonomy from the Ottoman Empire, which still held nominal suzerainty over the principality. The coins were struck at the Brussels mint.
The 1873–1876 dates span a politically charged window: just after the first emission, Romania entered the Russo-Turkish War on the Russian side, and full independence was declared mid-series.