Catalog
100 Lei
| Issuer | Banca Moldovei (Bank of Moldavia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1856 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Decorative plant vignettes occupy each upper corner, with the numeral value '100' superimposed above each. The coat of arms of Moldavia is centred at the top of the note. The remaining surface carries bilingual text in Romanian and French, rendered in a mixed Cyrillic-Latin transitional script characteristic of mid-19th-century Moldavian printing, with the date and issuing authority of the General Directorate of the Bank of Moldova stated in full. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is blank. |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Moldavia was one of the shortest-lived issuing institutions in Romanian history — founded in 1856 and absorbed into the broader monetary union process within years, it issued only a handful of note types before ceasing operations. This 100 Lei note is among the earliest paper money issued on Moldavian soil under a formally chartered bank, predating the establishment of the Banca Națională a României by over two decades.
Printing in Iași rather than abroad was unusual for the period, when most Danubian Principality financial instruments relied on Viennese or Parisian presses. The choice likely reflected the political sensitivity of the moment — 1856 was the year the Treaty of Paris ended the Crimean War and placed Moldavia under collective Great Power guarantee, making conspicuous foreign printing contracts a diplomatic liability.