1 Leu Reverse Trial

Romanian coinage reform in the early 1920s followed years of monetary disruption from the First World War and the subsequent territorial expansion that doubled the country's size. Trial and pattern pieces in lead were a standard part of the Parisian and Brussels mint workflows for approving reverses before committing to full dies — this piece is a product of that approval process, not a circulation attempt.

The 1923 1 Leu was ultimately struck in cupro-nickel at the Poissy mint in France, Romania lacking sufficient domestic minting capacity at the time.