100 Lei - Carol II Pattern

Pattern coins of Carol II's reign carry unusual political weight. By 1940, Carol was ruling as a royal dictator under his 1938 constitution, but his position collapsed catastrophically in the summer of that year — forced to cede northern Transylvania to Hungary under the Vienna Award in August, then abdicated under pressure from the Iron Guard and the military in September. A pattern struck in 1940 almost certainly never progressed to an approved production run precisely because the regime issuing it ceased to exist before that could happen.

The gold-clad bronze composition suggests this was a cost-reduction proposal, not a prestige piece. Stamb#179 is among the last documented numismatic projects of the Carol II administration.