12 Ducat - Carol II Pattern

Pattern coinage for Carol II was produced in 1939 as Romania's political situation deteriorated rapidly — the king had already dissolved the constitution and established his royal dictatorship in 1938. Whether this 12-ducat denomination was ever seriously intended for circulation or existed purely as a prestige strike for presentation purposes remains debated among Romanian specialists. The Stamb cataloguing of multiple die variants for this type suggests more than one reverse or obverse pairing was explored.

Gold-plated bronze was the standard medium for Romanian pattern work of this period, allowing large-format presentation pieces without the bullion cost of a genuine gold strike.