1 Leu Pattern

Romania's 1993 coinage reform was driven by the catastrophic inflation following the fall of Ceaușescu's government — by 1993, the leu had lost the majority of its purchasing power within just three years. This pattern was produced as the National Bank evaluated cheaper base-metal compositions to replace the aluminum coins that had become nearly worthless in real terms. Copper-plated steel offered a production cost that aluminum no longer justified once the denomination itself had collapsed in value.