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1000 Lei Union of Basarabia with Romania
| Issuer | National Bank of Moldova |
|---|---|
| Year | 2018 |
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| Value | 1000 Lei |
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| Obverse description | Against a mirror-polished proof field, the central device depicts the coat of arms of the Republic of Moldova: a displayed eagle bearing a shield charged with the traditional Moldovan symbols of an aurochs head, star, rose, and crescent. The eagle holds an olive branch in its dexter talon and a sceptre in its sinister talon, with a patriarchal cross in its beak. The legend REPUBLICA MOLDOVA arcs vertically along the left and right fields respectively, with the date 2018 inscribed at the top and the denomination 1000 LEI displayed prominently at the base, separated by a horizontal rule. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents an allegorical composition commemorating the centenary of the union of Bessarabia with Romania on 27 March 1918. Two female figures, personifying Bessarabia and Romania, stand side by side in the central field: the left figure raises a lance or staff draped with a flowing ribbon banner, while the right figure holds aloft an olive branch, both rendered in high relief against a proof background with radiating sunbeams at their feet. To the left of the figures appears the crowned coat of arms of the Kingdom of Romania, and to the right the heraldic shield of Moldavia featuring an aurochs head. The arc legend UNIREA BASARABIEI CU ROMÂNIA curves along the upper border, the date 27 MARTIE 1918 is inscribed in the lower central field, and the commemorative inscription 100 ANI appears prominently at the base. A border of raised dots frames the inner design. |
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| Additional information |
The union commemorated here — the 1918 incorporation of Bessarabia into Romania following the collapse of the Russian Empire — remained politically toxic in Soviet Moldova and was officially suppressed as a historical event for decades. When Moldova declared independence in 1991, the question of whether 1918 represented liberation or annexation became immediately contested again. That the National Bank of Chișinău issued this coin at the centenary says something about where official historiography had landed by 2018, even as the political argument remained very much alive domestically.