Romania's postwar inflation had grown catastrophic by 1946, and this 100,000 Lei piece reflects just how far the currency had collapsed — denominations that would have been unthinkable a decade earlier were now necessary for everyday commerce. The communist-backed Groza government, installed under Soviet pressure in March 1945, tolerated the young king's continued presence on the coinage for the moment, but the political calculus was already shifting.
Mihai I was forced to abdicate in December 1947, making this one of the final silver issues to bear his effigy before the People's Republic erased the monarchy entirely from Romanian numismatic history.
Romania's postwar inflation had grown catastrophic by 1946, and this 100,000 Lei piece reflects just how far the currency had collapsed — denominations that would have been unthinkable a decade earlier were now necessary for everyday commerce. The communist-backed Groza government, installed under Soviet pressure in March 1945, tolerated the young king's continued presence on the coinage for the moment, but the political calculus was already shifting.
Mihai I was forced to abdicate in December 1947, making this one of the final silver issues to bear his effigy before the People's Republic erased the monarchy entirely from Romanian numismatic history.