Romania's piedfort issues of the 1990s were produced in extremely limited numbers, largely for the collector export market as the country worked to rebuild foreign currency reserves following the economic collapse of the Ceaușescu years. The 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics provided a convenient licensing hook. Pieforts of this type were struck at double the standard planchet thickness using the same dies as the circulation or proof issue, a French minting tradition that Romania adopted sporadically for prestige sets.
Romanian Olympic coinage from this decade rarely turns up in complete sets — individual pieces were sold separately through state numismatic channels, and attrition has been significant.
Romania's piedfort issues of the 1990s were produced in extremely limited numbers, largely for the collector export market as the country worked to rebuild foreign currency reserves following the economic collapse of the Ceaușescu years. The 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics provided a convenient licensing hook. Pieforts of this type were struck at double the standard planchet thickness using the same dies as the circulation or proof issue, a French minting tradition that Romania adopted sporadically for prestige sets.
Romanian Olympic coinage from this decade rarely turns up in complete sets — individual pieces were sold separately through state numismatic channels, and attrition has been significant.