20 bani Pattern

Romania's regular 20 bani coinage of this period was struck in copper-nickel, making this zinc piece an official pattern — almost certainly produced at the Bucharest or a contracted European mint to test the metal as a cheaper wartime or budgetary alternative. Zinc was being evaluated across several European states in the early 1900s as nickel prices fluctuated. Patterns in zinc from this era rarely entered any formal distribution channel and typically survive in very small numbers, often traceable to a handful of known collections.